Two men who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 cried in court on Friday after a judge sentenced each of them to more than three years in prison for their role in the insurrection.
Cody Mattice, 29, and James Mault, 30, both from New York, were sentenced to 44 months in prison on Friday, according to the Justice Department. In April, they both pled guilty to assaulting police officers during the Capitol riot.
Mattice was the one who recorded their actions on Jan. 6.
Around 2:30 p.m, “Mattice pulled down a segment of the metal barricades that stood in front of a police line,” according to the Justice Department. “He quickly grabbed it with both hands, pulling it away from officers and onto the ground. A short time later, rioters overwhelmed the police line, forcing officers to retreat up a central staircase to the Lower West Terrace. Mattice and Mault were part of the group that assaulted the police line. They stood at or near the front of the group, pushing forward against the officers, who attempted to keep the rioters from advancing.”
Two hours later Mattice and Mault approached the tunnel leading into the Capitol Building from the Lower West Terrace.
When they reached the tunnel, “Mattice reached out to another rioter and grabbed a small object appearing to be a canister. He then sprayed chemical spray at police officers,” the Justice Department said. “Mault likewise obtained a small canister containing chemical spray from another member of the crowd, and he, too, sprayed it at officers defending the tunnel. Mault also got a second canister from the crowd and provided it to another rioter.”
Both men wept and apologized when they appeared before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on Friday. They begged for leniency, telling the judge that they have families and young kids, according to the Washington Post. But Howell noted that prosecutors had already made a reasonable deal by dropping other charges that could have led to more prison time.
They cried as Judge Howell imposed the 44 months sentences requested by the government.
“They were not patriots on January 6, and no one who broke the police lines and stopped the democratic process was a patriot that day,” Howell said.
According to Insider, more than 876 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection on Jan. 6.
