(PatriotWise.com) — Last Wednesday, a District judge in Washington DC sentenced a 21-year-old from Georgia for his role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol, The Hill reported.
Bruno Joseph Cua, who was only 18 when he assaulted a police officer and sat in then-Vice President Mike Pence’s chair in the Senate chamber was sentenced to a year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release.
Earlier this year, Cua was convicted of two felony charges, including assaulting, resisting, and interfering with officers and obstructing an official proceeding.
Federal prosecutors with the US Attorney for the District of Columbia had sought more than four-and-a-half years in the sentencing memo filed in May.
Prosecutors argued that while Cua was one of the youngest defendants, he was “not a child” on January 6, 2021.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Cua attended the rally at the Washington Monument on January 6 with his parents. He then walked toward the Capitol where he climbed the scaffolding outside before entering the third floor of the building.
Cua then walked through the hall holding a baton and yelling, “This is what happens when you piss off patriots.”
As Capitol Police attempted to lock the doors to the Senate Gallery, Cua shoved an officer as Capitol Police withdrew from the Senate Gallery doors without locking them. Once inside the Senate chamber, Cua sat in Pence’s chair and put his feet on the desk. Prosecutors also said Cua assisted other rioters who were also attempting to enter the Senate chamber.
Investigators found that in multiple social media posts, Cua promoted using violence to stop the certification process, according to the sentencing memo. He also posted multiple claims that the election was stolen while making it clear “that he did not believe that peaceful protesting” was enough and “violence was necessary.”
According to the Associated Press, before he was sentenced, Cua apologized to the court for his actions and said he was ashamed of what he had done that day, adding that everything about January 6 was “one terrible decision after another.”
It was because of this remorse that the judge did not sentence Cua more harshly.
Copyright 2023, PatriotWise.com
