A military veteran convicted of wounding a police officer’s hand during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.
John George Todd III refused to address the court before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced him. The judge said Todd, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, has shown no remorse for his role in damaging the country’s “fragile” democratic institutions.
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“This is not a patriot. This is not behavior befitting a Marine,” the judge told 34-year-old Todd.
Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 12 years and seven months for Todd, who traveled from his home in Missouri to attend then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington DC on January 6.
“As the country approaches another controversial election year that will see a repeat of the 2020 presidential election that was at stake for the rioters on January 6, any conviction on January 6 sends a message about the importance of democratic values and the rule of law . ,” the prosecutors wrote.
After entering the Capitol, Todd repeatedly pushed officers in the Rotunda, ignored orders to leave and shouted profanities at police.
Todd carried a fiberglass pole attached to a flag. When a Metropolitan Police Department officer tried to take it away, Todd and the officer struggled for control of the pole until it splintered and severed the officer’s hand.
The officer, Noah Rathbun, required seven stitches and missed nine days of work. Todd argued that the officer’s injuries were self-inflicted.
Another rioter, retired New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attacking Rathbun outside the Capitol earlier that day. Webster swung a flagpole at Rathbun, then tackled him and grabbed his gas mask.
The January 6 convict is asking for a light sentence in order to remain in the Navy
Todd has been jailed since a jury convicted him in February of six charges, including obstruction of the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump.
“This was a dangerous first, disrupting the peaceful transition to a new presidential administration,” the judge said.
Todd was initially charged only with felonies, but a grand jury indicted him on misdemeanor charges after prosecutors discovered a video of him attacking Rathbun.
After his arrest, Todd repeatedly violated the terms of his pretrial release. He moved from Blue Springs, Missouri, to South Carolina to be under the care of his sister.
Todd’s attorneys said he is a combat veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who needs mental health treatment, not incarceration.
“Incarceration would only worsen Mr. Todd’s health and mental health problems,” an attorney wrote last year.
Todd was a Marine from 2009 to 2013 and served in Afghanistan, his family said. Todd received an “other than honorable” discharge from the military due to his alcohol abuse, according to prosecutors.
More than a hundred police officers were injured in the riots. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Nearly 900 of them have been convicted, and roughly two-thirds of them receive prison sentences ranging from a few days to 22 years.
