WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump supporter who attacked officers while wearing a “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” sweater during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison, lashing out at the Trump-appointed judge who had pronounced the sentence. it.
Federal prosecutors had sought a 14-year prison sentence for Christopher Quaglin, saying the New Jersey man was one of the most violent rioters on Jan. 6 and “brutally attacked numerous officers” after calling for a “civil war” and bragging about armed patriots storming the Capitol. .
“On at least a dozen occasions, Quaglin found himself face-to-face with officers while shouting, pushing with outstretched arms, hitting, punching and punching officers; pushing bike racks into officers; and even choking an officer to the ground,” prosecutors wrote.
Quaglin made a lengthy statement about his sentencing, lashing out at Judge Trevor McFadden after the 12-year prison sentence was imposed.
“You are Trump’s biggest mistake of 2016,” Quaglin told McFadden, who was appointed by Trump in 2017.
Quaglin’s 12-year prison sentence is one of the longest sentences imposed on rioters in the nearly three years since the attack on the Capitol. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,400 people and secured more than 1,000 convictions. While hundreds of defendants have received probation sentences, more than 500 have been sentenced to incarceration periods ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in prison.
McFadden said Quaglin, an electrician by trade, attacked his “fellow blue collar Americans” on Jan. 6 while wearing the “stars and stripes” of the United States.
“What an outrage,” McFadden said. “What a shame.”
McFadden said it was clear that Quaglin, unlike some of the Jan. 6 rioters who got caught up in the moment, had been planning for that day for some time and had made efforts to bring equipment to the Capitol in support of his desire to to participate in ‘civil activities’. war.” He said Quaglin had become a propagandist for the Jan. 6 defendants, spreading lies about the attack and claiming that it was largely peaceful, even though Quaglin knew by his own personal actions that this was not the case.
“You were anything but peaceful that day,” McFadden said. “You are a threat to our society.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
