Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 15 years and 8 months for Patrick McCaughey III, 25, but he was sentenced to seven years and six months, plus two years of supervised release
A rioter who used a stolen riot shield to smash a police officer in a door frame in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Capitol Hill was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in prison for his role in the insurrection.
Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 15 years and 8 months for Patrick McCaughey III, 25, in what would have been the longest sentence for a Capitol riot case in more than five years.
Subsequently, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced McCaughey to seven years and six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
Patrick McCaughey III has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for crimes committed at the Capitol on Jan 6, including his assault on myself with a riot shield.
I gave the following statement in person at sentencing. pic.twitter.com/uXn0cgsxyc
— Definitely Danny (@SemperWry) April 14, 2023
McFadden described the convicted man as a “poster child for everything dangerous and frightening” about the Jan. 6 riots.
“Your actions are some of the most heinous crimes that were committed on that dark day,” the judge told McCaughey.
For his part, McCaughey expressed shame for belonging to the crowd of protesters adoring former President Donald Trump: “I regret that I behaved less like a citizen and more like an animal that day.”
The subject was convicted of nine charges, including felony assault after McFadden heard testimony at his non-jury trial in September.
McCaughey was also convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.
The recent sentencing comes after the judge earlier this year sentenced four of McCaughey’s co-defendants to sentences ranging from 14 months to five years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall argued that McCaughey’s conduct was more “egregious and prolonged” than the other co-defendants.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riots, of which more than 6,000 have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a judge or jury. More than 450 have been convicted, and more than half received prison sentences ranging from seven days to 10 years.