A California man has been sentenced to 20 years for his actions at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the U.S. Capitol where he was alleged to have attacked law enforcement.
The prosecution said David Dempsey, who has a criminal history, was “among the few out of thousands of January 6 rioters who engaged in such protracted and vicious attacks” that involved assaulting officers with makeshift weaponry.
“Unlike other rioters who slowly pushed their way through the crowd towards the Capitol, Dempsey climbed atop his fellow rioters, using them like human scaffolding, thrusting himself to the front,” the prosecution stated. “Once he reached the mouth of the tunnel, Dempsey began a prolonged attack, fighting with his hands, feet, flag poles, crutches, pepper spray, broken pieces of furniture, and anything else he could get his hands on, as weapons against the police.”
The prosecution stated that Mr. Dempsey at one point turned on another rioter who attempted to stop him.
Mr. Dempsey pepper-sprayed one Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer in the face just as another rioter had removed his gas mask and later struck another MPD officer in the head with a crutch, cracking the protective shield of his gas mask and causing severe injury.
The prosecution alleged that Mr. Dempsey swung “pole-like weapons,” sprayed chemicals, threw objects at law enforcement, and tried to steal their equipment.
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“Dempsey’s actions on January 6 were consistent with his earlier declaration, captured on video, of wishing to see political figures hanging from a noose, and also consistent with his documented history of political violence in California,” the prosecution stated.
Mr. Dempsey was identified in Capitol building surveillance footage by an open-course investigation website called seditionhunters.org as #FlagGaiterCopHater.
He had been arrested in Santa Monica, California, in 2019 for spraying anti-Trump protesters with bear spray.
Though Mr. Dempsey, whose face was disguised, wore different outfits during the riot, the FBI reviewed video footage with the help of seditionhunters.org, which identified consistent articles of clothing such as his camouflage pants, high-top tennis shoes, and a black and yellow bracelet.
At one point, he was recorded speaking in front of a structure representing the gallows stating, “This is necessary.”
In January, Mr. Dempsey pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting police officers with dangerous weapons.
Mr. Dempsey’s sentence is one of the longest in the January 6 prosecutions.
Former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio still was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy in his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth told Mr. Dempsey, “Your conduct on January 6th was exceptionally egregious. You did not get carried away in the moment.”
The Epoch Times has contacted Mr. Dempsey’s attorney for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
