Key takeaways:
- Matthew Jason Beddingfield was sentenced to three years and two months in prison for assaulting police officers with a flagpole during the Capitol riot.
- The pole was described as a “metal flagpole with a sharpened end” and was used to strike officers.
- Beddingfield is the first person to be sentenced in the District of Columbia for assaulting police officers during the attack.
On Tuesday, a North Carolina man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for attacking police officers with a flagpole during the January 6th Capitol riot. Matthew Jason Beddingfield, 22, was free on pretrial release for an attempted murder charge in Johnston County, North Carolina, when he joined the riot.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Beddingfield to a prison term of three years and two months followed by two years of supervised release. Beddingfield had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon during the Capitol attack.
Outside the Capitol, Beddingfield flashed a Nazi-style salute after attacking police officers with a pole attached to an American flag, according to federal prosecutors. The pole was described as a “metal flagpole with a sharpened end” and was used to strike officers.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said, “Beddingfield’s criminal conduct was an affront to the rule of law and the safety of the officers who were protecting the Capitol on January 6th. This sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who would consider engaging in similar conduct in the future.”
Beddingfield is one of more than 400 people charged in connection with the Capitol riot. He is the first person to be sentenced in the District of Columbia for assaulting police officers during the attack.
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