First Jan. 6 Protester to Enter US Capitol Is Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison

Michael Sparks, the first demonstrator to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leaves federal court in Washington on Aug. 27, 2024. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

A Kentucky man who was the first known person to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Michael Sparks, 47, was convicted in March by a federal jury in the District of Columbia on all six charges that he faced, including two felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.

On Aug. 27, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced Sparks to 53 months in prison and fined him $2,000.

Before hearing his sentencing, Sparks maintained that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against then-President Donald Trump and “completely taken from the American public.”

“I am an American citizen who believes to this day that we are in tyranny,” Sparks told the court.

“I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody. I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in.”

One charge of obstructing an official proceeding against Sparks has been dropped after the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the legal standard requiring prosecutors to prove that the defendant “impaired the availability or integrity” of records, documents, or other objects used in an official proceeding.

However, for the remaining convictions, Sparks received a harsher sentence than the guidelines recommended. The judge said that Sparks did not fully understand the effects of his actions.

“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,” Kelly said.

Video surveillance from inside the U.S. Capitol shows that Sparks entered the building at 2:13 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, jumping through a window that was shattered by another demonstrator with a stolen riot police shield, according to court filings. Congress recessed less than one minute after his entry.

Once inside the Capitol, Sparks followed a group of demonstrators in confronting Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who warned them that he would shoot if they didn’t move back and then retreated upstairs to seek backup. The crowd pursued the officer up the stairs near the Senate chamber, where several other officers ordered them to leave.

Goodman testified that the demonstrators continued to accost him, demanding to know where the electoral votes were being counted. A video shows Sparks walking to the front of the group and yelling at Goodman, “We’re standing here for you as well!” and “This is our America! This is our America!”

Sparks spent a total of 20 minutes inside the Capitol. His attorney argued that his brief stay and lack of aggressive actions made him one of the “less culpable offenders in the Capitol breach.”

“When it became evident to him that Vice President Pence was not, in fact, going to declare Trump president as Trump had assured his followers that he would, Mr. Sparks literally quit the protest and walked away at 2:26 p.m.,” the attorney said in a brief. “He re-entered the Senate Wing Door at 2:28 p.m., and peacefully left the Capitol at 2:33 p.m—20 minutes after he entered.

“He made his voice heard to Officer Goodman for a mere eight minutes and then peacefully and voluntarily left the building to passively watch from outside.”

The attorney had asked in the brief that his client be given 12 months of home detention followed by a three-year supervised release.

In the 43 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,400 individuals from almost all 50 states have been charged with offenses related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 600 have received prison sentences ranging from a few days to 22 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.