First rioter to breach Capitol sentenced, Trump faces new charges
Photo: former US President Donald Trump (getty images)
Michael Sparks, a resident of Kentucky who was the first rioter to enter the US Capitol during the January 6 attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison, according to AP.
A police officer who attempted to subdue Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the January 6 assault. On that day, the Senate recessed less than a minute after Sparks entered the building through a broken window. Inside, Sparks and other rioters pursued a police officer up the stairs. Video of this incident was widely circulated online during the events.
Before sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and "completely taken from the American public."
"I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody. I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in," Sparks said.
Timothy Kelly, the federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that his prominent role in the national disgrace was not patriotic.
"I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did," the judge said.
A jury found Sparks guilty on all six charges against him, including interfering with police during a civil disorder. Sparks did not testify at his trial.
In the weeks leading up to January 6, Sparks had spread conspiracy theories about election fraud on social media and advocated for civil war.
"It’s time to drag them out of Congress. It’s tyranny," he wrote on Facebook three days before the riot.
New charges against Trump in 2020 election case
On Tuesday, August 27, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment against Donald Trump regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The new indictment retains the same criminal charges but narrows the scope following a Supreme Court ruling that granted broad immunity to former presidents.
The initial indictment included allegations that Trump sought to involve the Department of Justice in his failed attempt to overturn his election loss, including through conducting fictitious investigations and making false reports to states about significant fraud.
Capitol riot
In January 2021, Trump supporters attempted to storm the Capitol building, where the Senate is located, demanding the overturning of the 2020 presidential election results, which had been won by Joe Biden. During the riot, five people died, including a police officer.
In May 2023, the court sentenced Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the far-right group Oath Keepers, to 18 years in prison in connection with this case.
