Michael Sparks, who was the first defendant to break into the US Capitol building January 6, 2021was sentenced to 53 months in prison Tuesday for the felony and misdemeanor charges.
US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly warned that the attack on the Capitol has created uncertainty about how America will carry out the next transfer of power after 2024 presidential election.
Sparks, 46 years old, was convicted by a jury in March of criminal obstruction of official proceedings and civil disorder and misdemeanors – including disorderly and disruptive behavior in restricted buildings or grounds, entering restricted buildings and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building.
Video from inside the Capitol shows him climbing through a window and jumping to the floor around 2:13 p.m. that day, according to the Justice Department.
Exhibition management
A prosecutor explained the choice by the US Capitol police sergeant who saw Sparks enter the smashed window not to shoot at him. They “could have drawn their weapons,” the government said, “but that would have resulted in bloodshed … they were also protecting the rioters.” The sergeant testified strongly about his decision not to fire. He told the court about the trauma of the riots, the suicide of his friends and the “fragility of democracy” today.
Surveillance video shows Sparks, after he entered the Capitol, then joined a group of people and chased Capitol Police officers Eugene Goodman up a flight of stairs and at one point, he punched someone, shouting, “This is our America!”
Exhibition management
Prosecutors told the court in the previous sentence January 6 riotsSparks has written, “I believe in the constitution so I will die f(o) it. Trump that’s my president.”
He said Sparks tried to cover his tracks: “Only after he knew he was going to be caught did Sparks take action — not canceling his account or changing his privacy settings to prevent others from contacting him, but permanently deleting” the post. .
Exhibition management
When prosecutors and the judge cited some of Sparks’ social media posts prior to Jan. 6, her defense said they were “just hyperbole” and “just angry words.”
Here’s Sparks’ caption on a front-page photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “How about we the people drag you out (?)”
Sparks’ attorney said the post was no worse than tweets from some members of Congress. And he mentioned former President Donald Trump, who he said “coined the term ‘2nd Amendment solution’ about Hillary Clinton.”
Sparks’ attorney asked for 12 months of house arrest. He asserted that the mob was formed on “Trump’s orders” and called for continued rejection of the 2020 election results. And he said that while Sparks got into the Capitol first, he wasn’t a mob leader.
Before traveling to the Capitol from his home in Kentucky, according to the government, Sparks had written on the Parler social media site, “We want the civil war to be clear,” and he posted on Facebook on January 3, 2021, “It’s time to drag people out of Congress. It is tyranny (.) “He also said that he had given up on democracy.
Sparks was arrested by the FBI in Kentucky on January 19, 2021.
Robert Legare contributed to this report.
Scott MacFarlane
