Trump supporter jailed 20 years for US Capitol assault
A supporter of former US president Donald Trump who participated in the attack on the Capitol has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the second-highest sentence for the attack so far.
David Dempsey, a California resident, was one of the most violent rioters in the January 6, 2021 attack, prosecutors said.
Videos of him kicking and throwing objects at police officers on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace were shown in Judge Royce Lamberth’s court in Washington, according to information cited by US media.
The images show Dempsey repeatedly hitting an officer’s helmet with a piece of metal, according to ABC News.
A police officer who testified on Friday said he believed he would die at the hands of the attacker.
Dempsey had a criminal record for multiple instances of attacking political opponents during protests in 2019 and 2020.
According to the Department of Justice, the attack on the Capitol began at 10am when members of the far-right Proud Boys organization persuaded about 200 people to walk from the Ellipse, the park south of the White House, to the Capitol, jumping multiple security barriers in the process.
About 10,000 people – mostly Trump supporters – marched toward the Capitol, and about 800 stormed the building. Five people were killed and about 140 officers injured.
Since the attack, more than 1000 people have been arrested and 350 charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement, according to the Department of Justice.
Last September, Cuban-born Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the highest sentence to date.
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