Jan. 6 defendant given second-longest prison sentence, 20 years, for assaulting officers

A California man was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for attacking police officers with flagpoles and other items during the Capitol riot in 2021, marking the second-longest prison sentence handed down in Jan. 6 cases.

David Dempsey, who wore an American flag gaiter that covered his face during the riot, pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting police officers. He admitted to going on a violent spree in the Capitol tunnel during which he hit police with poles and other makeshift weapons, pepper sprayed police, and caused “significant injury” to two officers.

Dempsey also admitted to shouting obscenities at police, such as “you f***in’ pieces of s***,” and to recording himself outside the Capitol in front of mock gallows suggesting officials should be hanged. Among the people Dempsey targeted were former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former FBI Director James Comey, saying as he pointed at a noose to “string ’em up and string ’em high” because they were “treasonous.”

Prosecutors had asked Judge Royce Lamberth for 21 years for Dempsey, saying in a sentencing memorandum that he was “one of the most violent rioters, during one of the most violent stretches of time, at the scene of the most violent confrontations at the Capitol.”

They noted that he was remorseless until his court proceedings began and that he had an “extensive criminal history” that included multiple instances of burglary and assault.

During his sentencing hearing, Dempsey appeared apologetic, according to the Associated Press. In final remarks before receiving his sentence, he described his behavior as “reprehensible.”

“You were performing your duties, and I responded with hostility and violence,” Dempsey said in the courtroom.

Dempsey’s sentence is among the longest of the roughly 560 prison sentences handed down in Capitol riot cases. It is second only to that given to Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, who received 22 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges despite not being in Washington on Jan. 6.

The Justice Department has brought charges against more than 1,488 defendants since the riot occurred.