Texas militiaman sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for beating and knocking cop unconscious during Capitol assault
Donald Hazard faces a prison sentence of four years and nine months for his role in the Capitol assault, who had grabbed an officer dragging him down concrete steps leaving him with a concussion and foot injuries
A Texas militia member was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for attacking U.S. Capitol Police officers, seriously injuring one of them in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault.
Randoloh Moss, a federal district judge, sentenced Donald Hazard to four years and nine months behind bars followed by three months of supervised release for his role in the riots at the government compound, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The decision is in line with what prosecutors had recommended for the man, who pleaded guilty to an assault charge in February.
The 44-year-old Hazard was a member of a militia called the Patriot Boys of North Texas. Lucas Denney, the group’s president, appointed Hazard as his sergeant-at-arms, who had encouraged him to equip himself with weapons and protective gear, as well as recruiting others to join them in Washington, D.C., prosecutors said.
The defendant was “eager for violence” on Jan. 6, was decked out in a tactical vest and a helmet adorned with the image of the Confederate battle flag, Justice Department prosecutor Benet Kearney said in a court filing.
Hazard confronted officers after marching toward the Capitol who were trying to contain the crowd near scaffolding on the northwest side of the building. The subject grabbed a Capitol Police officer and dragged him down the concrete steps, knocking him unconscious. The officer was treated for a concussion and foot injuries that required numerous surgeries.
The defendant also fell on another Capitol agent whose head slammed into the concrete. Hazard and Denney, both wielding what apparently appeared to be pepper spray canisters, confronted other officers on the west side of the Capitol, CBS News reported.
Hazard entered the Capitol for a few minutes before police pushed him and other supporters of former President Donald Trump out of the government building.
“When he reached the outside steps, Hazard raised his arms in victory,” Kearney said.
Days later to Jan. 6, the man bragged on Facebook about attacking the Capitol and fighting with police.
“The only regret Hazard expressed was that he no longer had the photographs and videos he took that day,” Kearney wrote.
For his part, defense attorney Ubong Akpan said his client had no plans to attack officers.
“His actions were more of a reaction to what he saw that day, rather than a plan to attack law enforcement, a group he thought he was in a similar situation with,” Akpan wrote in a court filing.
A video shows Hazard did not forcibly assault officers on the scaffolding, his lawyer argued.
“His conduct was more consistent with obstructing the officers and his obstruction caused bodily injury to the officers,” Akpan said.
Hazard was charged along with Denney, who pleaded guilty to one count of assault and was sentenced last September to four years and four months in prison.
More than 100 police officers were injured on Jan. 6 outside the Capitol when hordes prevented Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.