Joshua Matthew Black, a resident of Leeds, Alabama, received a two-year prison sentence on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, for entering the US Capitol with a knife during the riot that took place on Jan 6, 2021, following the defeat of then US president Donald Trump. Black was the first rioter to breach a barricade.
Black, who identifies as an evangelical Christian, was reportedly driven by his religious beliefs. His defense attorney, Clark Fleckinger, stated that Black believed he was directed by God to go to Washington to seek atonement for the transgressions of a corrupt Democratic and Republican Party.
During the riot, Black was shot in the left cheek by a crowd-control munition, but that did not deter him from entering and occupying the Senate Chamber and searching through Senator Ted Cruz’s office. Despite receiving medical attention from law enforcement after being shot, Black claimed during the court proceedings that they were trying to pull him “behind enemy lines,” while insisting that he was a patriot there to defend the constitution.
Black’s actions, including being shot in the face, incited other rioters to harass and assault police officers. A search of Black’s home by the FBI on Jan 14, 2021, led to the recovery of the knife he carried during the Capitol incident. He was subsequently arrested later that day at a police station in Moody.
Black was convicted on five charges, which included entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds, entering and remaining on the floor of Congress, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. However, he was acquitted of obstructing a Congressional proceeding.
Prosecutors had initially sought a five-year prison sentence for Black in the wake of the shocking events on Jan 6. However, US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 22 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
The Capitol Hill riot resulted in over 1,000 individuals being charged with crimes related to the event. Around 320 individuals have been charged specifically with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. To date, approximately 500 individuals have received prison sentences ranging from seven days to over 14 years. The investigation into the riot is still ongoing.
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