Prison sentence for Jan. 6 attacker
Man will face over 12 years for using stun gun on officer
WASHINGTON — A California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the US Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.
Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of the courtroom where US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Only two other Jan. 6 defendants have received longer prison terms so far after hundreds of sentencings for Capitol riot cases.
The judge said Rodriguez, 40, was “a one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property” at the Capitol.
“You showed up in (Washington) D.C. spoiling for a fight,” Jackson said. “You can’t blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.”
Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone‘s body camera captured him screaming out in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun while he was surrounded by a mob.
Another rioter had dragged Fanone into the crowd outside a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where a line of police officers was guarding an entrance to the building. Other rioters began beating Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after Rodriguez pressed the stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him.
Fanone addressed the judge before she imposed the sentence. The former officer described how the Jan. 6 attack prematurely ended his law-enforcement career and turned him into a target for Donald Trump supporters who cling to the lie that Democrats stole the 2020 election from the Republican incumbent.
Fanone left the courtroom in the middle of Rodriguez’s statement to the judge. He didn’t miss an apology from Rodriguez, who has been jailed for more than two years and will get credit for that time already served.
“I’m hopeful that Michael Fanone will be OK someday,” Rodriguez said. “It sounds like he’s in a great deal of pain.”
Fanone said he left the courtroom because he didn’t care to hear his assailant’s “rambling, incoherent” statement.
“Nothing he could have said to me today would have made any difference whatsoever,” he said.
Prosecutors recommended a 14-year prison sentence for Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty in February to charges including assaulting Fanone. They also sought a fine of nearly $100,000 to offset the cost of Fanone’s medical bills and medical leave.
Fanone’s injuries ultimately ended his career in law enforcement. He wrote a book about his Jan. 6 experience and testified in front of a House committee that investigated the insurrection, which disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
“Rodriguez’s criminal conduct on January 6 was the epitome of disrespect for the law; he battled with law enforcement at the US Capitol for hours, nearly costing one officer his life, in order to stop the official proceeding happening inside,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including conspiracy and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He entered the guilty plea about two weeks before his trial was scheduled to start in Washington, D.C.
During an interview with FBI agents after his March 2021 arrest, Rodriguez said had believed that he was doing the “right thing” on Jan. 6 and that he had been prepared to die to “save the country.” He cried as he spoke to the agents, saying he was “stupid” and ashamed of his actions.