(Washington) A man described by prosecutors as one of the “most violent” participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in Washington was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.
The sentence for David Dempsey, a 37-year-old California native, is the second-longest ever handed down to one of the roughly 1,500 people charged for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It was led by a crowd of Donald Trump supporters competing for Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election, following a solemn speech by the Republican on the day Congress certified the election results.
Five people were killed and 140 security personnel were injured.
Prosecutors had sought 22 years in prison for David Dempsey, a former construction worker and fast-food worker, citing an already lengthy criminal record.
She described him as “one of the most violent rioters, during one of the most violent moments of (the assault), at the site of the most violent confrontations in the Capitol building.”
Police said he used “his hands, feet, flagpoles, crutches, pepper spray, broken pieces of furniture and anything else he could get his hands on as weapons against police.”
Dempsey had pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting police officers.
The former leader of the far-right American Proud Boys group, Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in September for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
