A California man has received a 12-year sentence for inserting a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, one of the longest sentences ever handed down.
However, Daniel “DJ” Rodriguez, 40, fought back, shouting “Trump won” as law enforcement escorted him from federal district court in Washington, DC.
Two other accused in the Capitol attack received longer prison sentences.
In announcing the sentence, Judge Amy Berman Jackson called Rodriguez “a one-man army of hate, attacks on police and destruction of property” in the events of January 6, 2021.
It was the day that supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Electoral College votes from the 2020 election. Trump falsely claimed the election was rigged to explain his loss in that race.
However, Judge Jackson rejected defense arguments that Rodriguez was simply misled by Trump’s “irresponsible and knowingly false claims.”
“You’re showing off [Washington] DC spoiling for a fight,” Jackson told Rodriguez. “You can’t blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.”
Rodriguez offered his own statement in court Wednesday, explaining his actions by saying, “I did what I thought was right at the time.”
He also acknowledged the “excruciating pain” inflicted on Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, whose body camera captured the stun gun assault.
“I hope that Michael Fanone will be OK in the future,” Rodriguez said.
Instead, Fanone walked out of court amid Rodriguez’s meandering 25-minute speech.
The former police officer later told the Associated Press, “Nothing he could have said to me now would have made any difference.”
He previously credited the events of Jan. 6 with ending his law enforcement career.
Fanone suffered a heart attack, burns and traumatic brain injuries when he was overtaken by mobs who beat him and dragged him down the steps of the Capitol. He testified about his experiences before a now-defunct House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.
Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty in February to four felony charges, including assault on a law enforcement officer, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez helped lead a Telegram chat group called the “PATRIOTS45MAGA Gang”, where Trump supporters gathered to organize before the attack.
According to the indictment against him, Rodriguez told someone he was “going to kill Joe Biden” and “would rather die than live under a Biden administration”. He also wrote in the group chat, “There is blood. Welcome to the revolution.”
Shortly after, he and other members of the chat group drove across the country from California to attend Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.
After the rally, thousands of rioters, including Rodriguez, gathered at the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress was held to certify the results of the election.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez joined a “heave-ho” effort to push back a line of police officers guarding a set of double doors to the Capitol. They also claimed to have seen him throw a flagpole at law enforcement and throw a fire extinguisher.
At one point, another rioter allegedly gave him an “electroshock weapon” which he used against the officers. When the mob pulled Fanone forward, Rodriguez allegedly hit him twice in the neck with an active stun gun. Later Fanone lost consciousness.
The Justice Department has charged more than 1,000 people with crimes related to the Capitol attack, as part of a wide-ranging investigation. Nearly 500 received sentences.
Few of the other defendants, however, received a prison sentence as long as Rodriguez’s.
Last month, Stewart Rhodes, leader of the far-right group Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years – the longest sentence. Prosecutors are looking for 25.
Before Rhodes, the maximum sentence was 14 years for Peter Schwartz of Kentucky, who prosecutors blame for breaking the Capitol police line and dousing retreating officers with pepper spray.
Like Rodriguez, Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, also received 12 years in prison. He was sentenced along with Rhodes in May.
