Florida man sentenced for role in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
A Florida man was sentenced to four years and seven months in federal prison on three counts related to the insurrection and storming of the US Capitol in January 2021
WASHINGTON– A Florida man was sentenced to four years and seven months in federal prison on three counts related to the insurrection and storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Mitchell Todd Gardner II, 34, of Seffner, Fla., was sentenced Thursday in federal court in the District of Columbia, court records show. He pleaded guilty last year to civil disorder, obstruction of official process and assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers with a dangerous weapon.
Gardner was arrested in Tampa in June 2021.
According to court documents, Gardner joined others in opposing Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob attacked the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from certifying election results for Biden against Trump, a Republican, authorities said. Five people died in the violence.
According to the criminal complaint, Gardner was part of a mob just outside the lower west congressional terrace tunnel and used pepper spray against officers in the tunnel area. The content hit one officer directly in the face mask and splashed two other officers, officials said.
Gardner also urged other rioters to use a ladder to get into a window, prosecutors said. When the ladder was not in use, Gardner stood on a windowsill outside a Senate terrace room and damaged the window with the pepper spray device.
Inside the Capitol, Gardner waved fellow rioters closer or into the building, officials said. He also handed another rioter what appeared to be a table or desk leg, which was used to assault police officers, prosecutors said.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 999 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for alleged crimes related to the Capitol breach, officials said. More than 320 people have been charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.
