A rioter who threw a spear-like object at police during the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison on Thursday.
Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, a professional butcher from Maine was found guilty of 11 charges, including seven felonies in a trial last year. He was sentenced on Thursday to 87 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Fitzsimons joined the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol wearing a white butcher’s jacket and a fur pelt and carrying an unstrung bow, the Justice Department said in a press release.
Authorities said Fitzsimons assaulted five officers over a five-minute time span. In one instance, he threw the unstrung bow like a spear at the group of law enforcement officers. The bow hit an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in the ballistic helmet and bounced off. In another altercation a rioter sprayed officers with a chemical agent and Fitzsimons trapped the chemical under an officer’s mask, causing him to temporarily suffocate.
Prosecutors also said Fitzsimons caused a “career-ending and life-altering” shoulder injury to Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell when he tried to protect a fallen officer that Fitzsimons was trying to drag into the mob.
Fitzsimons also encouraged his fellow insurrectionists to “get in there” and fight police when leaving the Capitol.
Fitzsimons apologized to the officers he attacked, the court, his family and “anyone else I’ve disappointed by my conduct” on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
1,064 individuals have been arrested so far for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. More that 350 individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the Justice Department.
