A supporter of former US President Donald Trump has been sentenced to five years in prison for attacking police officers during the January 6 Capitol incidents.
This is the largest sentence ever imposed by US courts for invading the Capitol.
Robert Scott Palmer, 54, wearing a U.S. flag-colored jacket and a cap with the slogan “Florida in favor of Trump,” was seen firing sticks, a fire extinguisher and other objects at police near the Capitol. He then tried to enter the building, but was stopped by security men using pepper spray. But he kept throwing objects at them, until they hit him with a plastic bullet.
Federal Judge Tanya Tsatkan rejected his handwritten apology. In this text he claims that he was “deceived” by the former president, whom he describes as “tyrannical”. “I realized he lied to us,” he wrote, referring to Trump and his supporters.
On Jan. 6, thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed Congress to prevent lawmakers and senators from ratifying Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. To date, the heaviest sentence imposed was 41 months in prison (just over three years) on two men found guilty of obstructing the process.
More than 700 people are being prosecuted in the United States for the attack, most for misdemeanors such as entering the Capitol illegally. Several dozen, however, are accused of assault, use of a deadly weapon and gang formation.
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