First January 6 rioter to enter Capitol sentenced to prison

The first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to prevent the official certification of the U.S. presidential election has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Michael Sparks, 47, was found guilty of disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and other related charges in a trial in March.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced him to 53 months in prison and a fine of $2,000 (£1,500).

At his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the false theories that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

“I am an American citizen who still believes that we live in a tyranny,” he said, according to US media reports.

“I regret that what happened that day did not help anyone,” he said in court. “I regret that our country is in the state it is in.”

A charge of obstruction of an official proceeding against Sparks was dropped after a Supreme Court ruling limited the law's use against rioters at the Capitol.

But on the other counts, Kelly gave Sparks a harsher sentence than the guidelines – less than two years – on the grounds that Sparks did not fully understand the gravity of his crime.

The judge told him: “I do not think you realise the magnitude of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the seriousness of your actions.”

Sparks, wearing a protective vest, entered the Capitol through a broken window and jumped to the ground shortly after 2 p.m. local time on January 6 after Donald Trump gave a speech to a nearby crowd in Washington DC.

A U.S. Capitol police officer testified in court that he saw Sparks enter the building but chose not to draw his weapon and shoot.

Video from the Capitol showed Sparks joining a group chasing a Capitol Police officer up a staircase, shouting, “This is our America!” He left the building about 10 minutes later.

He was arrested a few weeks after the riots.

Before traveling to Washington from his home in Cecilia, Kentucky, Sparks posted a series of messages online, including “We clearly want a civil war” and “It's time to kick them out of Congress. This is tyranny.”

He wrote: “TRUMP WILL BE YOUR PRESIDENT for 4 more years, in JESUS ​​NAME. No need to answer that, just be prepared for many big events. Have radios ready for power outages, etc. Love.”

His lawyers had requested a year of house arrest, arguing that although Sparks was the first to enter the Capitol, he was not a leader of the movement but was drawn into the events.

The prosecution demanded a prison sentence of 57 months.

“It could be said that Sparks helped start the fire that day by arming himself through his preparation and planning – including his protective body armor – against the police officers who tried to hold back the mob,” the prosecution team wrote in a memo before the verdict.

The investigation into the Capitol insurrection continues as authorities continue to arrest and prosecute participants. On Monday, a Utah man was arrested and charged with obstructing law enforcement, a felony, and a number of misdemeanors.

Hal Ray Huddleston, 66, is accused of arguing with police and using a flagpole to resist police cordoning off the area.

Nearly 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the unrest, with nearly 900 of them pleading guilty to various crimes and more than 180 being convicted in court, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Justice released earlier this month.

Trump has promised to pardon some or all of the rioters, whom he has described as “hostages” and “political prisoners,” but he has not given details about who he will release or what criteria he will use to do so.