Current:Home > NewsMan who bragged that he ‘fed’ an officer to the mob of Capitol rioters gets nearly 5 years in prison -MoneySpot
Man who bragged that he ‘fed’ an officer to the mob of Capitol rioters gets nearly 5 years in prison
View
Date:2025-04-18 06:32:50
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Georgia business owner who bragged that he “fed” a police officer to a mob of rioters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for his repeated attacks on law enforcement during the insurrection.
Jack Wade Whitton struck an officer with a metal crutch and dragged him — head first and face down — into the crowd on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Whitton later boasted in a text message that he “fed him to the people.”
Roughly 20 minutes later, Whitton tried to pull a second officer into the crowd, prosecutors say. He also kicked at, threatened and threw a construction pylon at officers trying to hold off the mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters.
“You’re gonna die tonight!” he shouted at police after striking an officer’s riot shield.
Whitton, of Locust Grove, Georgia, expressed remorse for his “horrible” actions on Jan. 6 before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced him to four years and nine months in prison. The 33-year-old will get credit for the three years that he has been jailed since his arrest.
“I tell you with confidence: I have changed,” Whitton told the judge.
Whitton, who pleaded guilty to an assault charge last year, told the judge that he has never been a “political person.”
“I’ve never been a troublemaker. I’ve always been a hard worker and a law-abiding citizen,” he said.
The judge said the videos of Whitton attacking police are “gruesome.”
“You really were out of control,” the judge told him.
Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of eight years and one month for Whitton, who owned and operated his own fence building company before his April 2021 arrest.
“Whitton looked for opportunities to attack: In his three documented assaults, he was either a leader or a solitary actor,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Videos show that contemporaneous attacks on police by Whitton and a co-defendant, Justin Jersey, “ignited the rageful onslaught of violence that followed” on the Lower West Terrace, prosecutors said.
“As Whitton and Jersey commenced their assaults, the tenor of the crowd audibly changed,” they wrote. “Other rioters surged towards the Archway and joined the attack, throwing objects at the officers and striking at them with makeshift weapons such as a hockey stick, a pieces of wood, a flagpole, and a police riot shield.”
Whitton was among nine defendants charged in the same attack. Two co-defendants, Logan Barnhart and Jeffrey Sabol, helped Whitton drag an officer into the crowd before other rioters beat the officer with a flagpole and a stolen police baton.
That evening, Whitton texted somebody images of his bloodied hands.
“This is from a bad cop,” he wrote. “Yea I fed him to the people. (I don’t know) his status. And don’t care (to be honest).”
Defense attorney Komron Jon Maknoon said Whitton traveled to Washington to support his girlfriend because she wanted to “witness an historic event” on Jan. 6, when Trump, a Republican, held a rally as Congress was about to certify his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“While his motives were not politically driven, he does possess a genuine love for his country and shares the desire for a free and fair election, much like any other citizen,” Maknoon wrote.
The judge previously sentenced seven of Whitton’s co-defendants to prison terms ranging from two years and six months to five years and 10 months.
More than 1,350 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Over 850 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Capitol insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.
veryGood! (63714)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Dog bitten by venomous snake at Connecticut state park rescued from mountain
- Retired AP reporter Hoyt Harwell dies at 93; covered key events in the American South
- Biden’s Title IX law expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students is dealt another setback
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- The Best Mascaras for Sensitive Eyes That Won’t Irritate, Yet Still Add All the Lift & Volume You Need
- Vintage airplane crashes in central Georgia, sending 3 to hospital
- 15-year-old girl shot to death hours before her middle school graduation, authorities say
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- How hunters are helping researchers track the spread of tick-borne diseases
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Howie Mandel Details Finding His Wife in Pool of Blood After Gruesome Freak Accident
- What College World Series games are on Tuesday? Two teams will be eliminated
- Armed man who demanded to see Wisconsin governor pleads guilty to misdemeanor
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Riley Strain's Cause of Death Revealed
- India train crash leaves at least 8 dead, dozens injured as freight train plows into passenger train
- California’s Black legislators make case for reparations bills while launching statewide tour
Recommendation
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Sunscreen recall: Suntegrity issues skin foundation recall for mold concerns
Psst! Wayfair’s Anniversary Sale Is Here—Score Furniture, Lighting, and Decor up to 70% Off
New York’s top court declines to hear Trump’s appeal of gag order in hush money case
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
15-year-old girl shot to death hours before her middle school graduation, authorities say
Melinda French Gates on disrupting society with new philanthropic focus, finding her voice
Taylor Swift marks 100th show of Eras Tour: 'Feels truly deranged to say'