Man who stormed Capitol in caveman costume gets jail

A New York Metropolis decide’s son who stormed the U.S. Capitol sporting a furry “caveman” costume was sentenced on Friday to eight months in prison.

U.S. District Decide James Boasberg stated Aaron Mostofsky was “literally on the front traces” of the mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

“What you and others did on that day imposed an indelible stain on how our nation is perceived, both at dwelling and overseas, and that can’t be undone,” the judge advised Mostofsky, 35.

Boasberg also sentenced Mostofsky to one 12 months of supervised launch and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of neighborhood service and pay $2,000 in restitution.

Mostofsky had requested the choose for mercy, saying he was ashamed of his “contribution to the chaos of that day.”

“I feel sorry for the officers that had to cope with that chaos,” stated Mostofsky, who must report to jail in approximately one month.

Mostofsky was carrying a strolling stick and dressed in a furry costume when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol. He advised a buddy that the costume expressed his belief that “even a caveman” would know that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Also on Friday, a federal decide agreed to postpone a trial in July for members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group charged with conspiring to forcefully halt the peaceful transfer of power after President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

A first jury trial for five of 9 Oath Keepers members charged with seditious conspiracy, including group founder Stewart Rhodes, is now scheduled to start out on Sept. 26 and is expected to final a few month. A second trial for the other four defendants is scheduled to start out on Nov. 29.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed to present defense lawyers more time to organize for trial however indicated that he isn’t inclined to grant one other delay. A couple of protection attorneys expressed concern about the attainable affect if a congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot releases its report across the same time as the primary trial. Mehta mentioned that wouldn’t be a reason for one more delay, “even if 435 members of Congress start reading from the report on the courthouse steps.”

Greater than 780 individuals have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Over 280 of them have pleaded responsible, mostly to misdemeanors.

A Tennessee man, Albuquerque Head, pleaded guilty on Friday to assaulting Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone. Head pulled Fanone right into a crowd of rioters who beat him, shocked him with a stun gun and stole his badge and police radio. An Iowa man, Kyle Younger, pleaded guilty on Thursday to assaulting Fanone, who was seriously injured by rioters and has since testified earlier than Congress about the assault.

More than 160 defendants have been sentenced, together with over 60 who've been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 14 days to 5 years and three months.

In Mostofsky’s case, federal sentencing tips advisable a jail sentence ranging from 10 months to 16 months. Prosecutors beneficial a sentence of 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised launch.

Mostofsky was one of many first rioters to enter the restricted space around the Capitol and among the many first to breach the constructing itself, by way of the Senate Wing doorways, in line with prosecutors. He pushed against a police barrier that officers have been making an attempt to maneuver and stole a Capitol Police bulletproof vest and riot defend, prosecutors mentioned.

“Mostofsky cheered on different rioters as they clashed with police exterior the Capitol building, even celebrating with a fist-bump to certainly one of his fellow rioters,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Inside the building, Mostofsky adopted rioters who chased Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase towards the Senate chambers. He took the police vest and shield with him when he left the Capitol, about 20 minutes after coming into.

Mostofsky often wears costumes at events, based on his lawyers.

“To place the matter with understatement, the New Yorker is quirky even by the requirements of his home metropolis,” they wrote.

A New York Post reporter interviewed him inside the Capitol through the riot. He instructed the reporter that he stormed the Capitol because “the election was stolen.”

Mostofsky has worked as an assistant architect in New York. His father, Steven Mostofsky, is a state court judge in Brooklyn.

“The truth that his father is a decide means that he ought to have been better able than different defendants to grasp why the claims of election fraud were false,” said Justice Department prosecutor Michael Romano.

Boasberg said none of the supportive letters submitted by Mostofsky’s household and pals explain how he “went down this rabbit gap of election fantasy.”

“I hope at this point you perceive that your indulgence in that fantasy has led to this tragic scenario,” the decide added.

Aaron Mostofsky pleaded responsible in February to a felony charge of civil dysfunction and misdemeanor charges of theft of government property and entering and remaining in a restricted constructing or grounds. Mostofsky was the primary Capitol rioter to be sentenced for a civil disorder conviction.

Mostofsky’s legal professionals asked for a sentence of dwelling confinement, probation and neighborhood service. Protection attorney Nicholas Smith described Mostofsky as a “spectator” who “drifted with the crowd” and didn’t go to the Capitol to intrude with the peaceable switch of energy.

“He did issues he mustn't have carried out,” Smith mentioned. “But there’s a giant distinction between an ideologue who's motivated to commit violence and somebody who ends up doing bad issues once they discover” themselves in a crowd.