This is the most severe penalty handed out for a January 6th defendant.
On Friday, Federal District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced 49-year-old Peter Schwartz to 14 years in prison for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot.
According to the New York Times, this is the most severe penalty handed out for a January 6th defendant. Prior to Schwartz's sentencing, the 10-year sentence given to Thomas Webster for assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon was the longest. Webster was accused of swinging a metal flagpole at an officer.
The prosecutor in the Schwartz case asked the judge to hand down a sentence of 24-years.
The judge decided that 14 years were warranted due to the defendant's history of violent offenses and lack of remorse for his actions. Judge Mehta said, "there are not many who have come before this court with a criminal history like yours."
The Pennsylvanian man was accused of attacking police officers with a chair and chemical spray. According to the report, Schwartz was charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and one count of obstructing the certification of the election. Prosecutors revealed that he told others via text that he threw "the first chair at the cops" and that he "started a riot."
Prosecutors also said he had stolen and used the police’s own pepper spray and other chemical munitions against them after they left them behind.
This comes on the same day as a prosecutor recommended a 25-year sentence to the Oath Keepers Militia leader Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted in November of seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents and proceedings.
It also came the day after four members of the Proud Boys were also convicted of seditious conspiracy for their involvement in the riot.
The Department of Justice has made over 1,000 charges for the incidents that took place on January 6th, 2021.
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