Ruling vacates rioter’s sentence, could impact other Jan. 6 cases
A federal appeals court in Washington has ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling issued Friday that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
While a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld Larry Brock’s conviction, the court said a judge wrongly applied an enhancement that lengthened the recommended prison sentence range under federal guidelines.
The enhancement — on the grounds that Brock’s conduct resulted in “substantial interference with the administration of justice” — has been applied in more than 100 other Jan. 6 defendants’ cases, said Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the Washington’s U.S. attorney’s office. If the ruling stands, those defendants who have not already completed their prison terms may push for new sentences.
When asked whether prosecutors will appeal the ruling, Hartman said they are considering their options.
Brock was sentenced last year to two years in prison after being convicted of a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding and misdemeanor offenses. He is currently serving his sentence at a federal lockup in Missouri and is expected to be released in December, according to online Bureau of Prisons records.
In Brock’s case, the appeals court said the “administration of justice” sentencing enhancement applies to judicial proceedings but does not extend to interfering with the certification of the electoral vote.
It’s unclear to what extent Brock’s — or other defendants’ — punishments might be reduced on re-sentencing.
Brock, of Grapevine, Texas, was wearing a helmet and tactical vest when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and went onto the Senate floor only minutes after Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber. Brock picked up a discarded pair of zip-tie handcuffs and was photographed in a widely shared photo holding the cuffs on the Senate floor.
His lawyer said in court papers that Brock did not pick up the cuffs to do any harm.
Jury convicts first Jan. 6 rioter to enter Capitol
The first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was convicted on Friday of charges that he interfered with police and obstructed Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Michael Sparks, 46, of Kentucky, jumped through a shattered window moments after another rioter smashed it with a stolen riot shield. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs, one of the most harrowing images from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
Sparks traveled to Washington with a group of co-workers from an electronics and components plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Sparks was the first rioter to enter the building after Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys extremist group, used a police shield to break the window next to the Senate Wing Door. Other rioters yelled at Sparks not to enter the building.
“He jumped in anyway,” Justice Department prosecutor Emily Allen said.