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A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.
A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.
Before learning his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and « completely taken from the American public. »
« I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody », Sparks said. « I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in. »
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that there was nothing patriotic about his prominent role in what was a « national disgrace. »
« I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did », the judge said.
Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Sparks, a 47-year-old former factory worker from Cecilia, Kentucky.
Defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf asked the judge to sentence Sparks to one year of home detention instead of prison.
A jury convicted Sparks of all six charges that he faced, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. Sparks didn’t testify at his trial in Washington, D.
