A rioter from the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday after he used flag poles, pepper spray and other makeshift weapons to repeatedly attack police officers guarding the building.
David Dempsey, a 37-year-old Californian, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon following what the sentencing judge called his “egregious” actions three years prior.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win. The riot erupted following claims from Trump that the 2020 election was stolen via widespread voter fraud, despite there being no evidence to back up such claims. The former president faces four felony charges for his alleged actions surrounding the Capitol attack, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.
During the riot, Dempsey swung several types of poles, including a flagpole, at police officers guarding a tunnel leading to the Capitol building. At one point, Dempsey climbed on the other rioters and threw a “short pole-like object “into the tunnel striking an officer and yelling, “F*** you b**** a** cops,” according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.
Dempsey shot pepper spray at Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detective Phuson Nguyen while another person pulled off the officer’s gas mask during the riot, according to prosecutors.
“The searing spray burned Detective Nguyen’s lungs, throat, eyes, and face and left him gasping for breath, fearing he might lose consciousness and be overwhelmed by the mob,” prosecutors wrote in the court documents.
Dempsey also hit MPD Sergeant Jason Mastony in the head with a metal crutch, cracking the shield of the officer’s gas mask, prosecutors wrote, adding that Mastony collapsed “in a daze” with his ears ringing from the blow.
“The blow cut Sergeant Mastony’s head, caused significant bruising, and made Sergeant Mastony believe he had suffered a concussion,” prosecutors wrote.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth told Dempsey at his sentencing on Friday, “Your conduct on January 6th was exceptionally egregious,” adding, “You did not get carried away in the moment.”
Before Lamberth handed down his sentence, Dempsey called his actions “reprehensible” and apologized to the officers whom he attacked.
“You were performing your duties, and I responded with hostility and violence,” he said.
Dempsey has been in jail since being arrested in August 2021. His sentence is the longest of any other Capitol rioter who has been convicted besides former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio who received 22 years.
Dempsey has a history of political violence, including a 2021 assault conviction stemming from a peaceful protest against Trump in Santa Monica, California, in 2019 where Dempsey shot bear spray at close range toward several protesters.
Over 1,488 people have been charged so far for crimes related to the Capitol riot, including almost 550 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
