August 10, 2024, 7:52 AM
August 10, 2024, 7:52 AM
David Dempsey, one of former President Donald Trump’s supporters who participated in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday (08/09/2024) to 20 years in prison, marking the second most severe sentence so far for the attack.
The man, a California resident, was one of the most violent rioters in the robbery, the US Attorney’s Office warned.
In Washington, Judge Royce Lamberth’s court, videos were presented showing Dempsey kicking and throwing objects at police officers on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, according to information cited by the American press.
The footage shows the man repeatedly hitting a police officer’s helmet with a piece of metal, ABC reported.
Police testimony
A police officer who testified on Friday said he believed he was going to die at the hands of the attacker.
Dempsey had a criminal record for several instances in which he attacked political opponents during protests in 2019 and 2020.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the attack began at 10:00 a.m., when members of the Proud Boys organization convinced about 200 people to go from the Ellipse, the park located south of the White House, to the Capitol, bypassing multiple security barriers.
On January 6, 2021, some 10,000 people – most of them Trump supporters – marched to the Capitol and about 800 stormed the building. There were five deaths and about 140 officers injured.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been arrested and 350 charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement, according to DOJ data.
In September Royce Lamberth, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, of Cuban origin, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest sentence so far.
