An Iowa construction worker who stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in attempting to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
Prosecutors accused Douglas Jensen of Des Moines, Iowa, of chasing law enforcement and rallying supporters during the attack, while carrying a three-inch blade in his pocket.
In September, he was convicted on all seven felony counts he faced, including obstructing an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer.
In his sentencing hearing on Friday, US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly emphasised the “big role” Jensen played in the deadly attack by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters.
But Kelly said he wasn’t sure if Jensen understood the gravity of his actions.
“It snapped our previously unbroken tradition of peaceful transfer of power. We can’t get that back,” Kelly said in an address to Jensen. “I wish I could say I had evidence you understood this cannot be repeated.”
Jensen also received three years of supervised release and a $2,000 fine as part of his sentencing.
His case is among the 900 arrests that the justice department has made since the January 6 riot. The department estimates that 470 have pleaded guilty to federal charges, and 185 defendants have been sentenced to prison so far.
Jensen’s sentencing also comes as the January 6 committee in the US House of Representatives prepares to hold its final public hearing on Monday, with a full report expected to be published on December 21.
The attack on the Capitol took place in the wake of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump, the Republican incumbent, who falsely claimed the 2020 presidential contest was marred by widespread fraud.