A Donald Trump supporter, David Dempsey, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for assaulting numerous police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors sought over 21 years for Dempsey, who was described as one of the most violent rioters during the chaos that day. He used various weapons and tactics to attack officers, including pepper spray, flag poles, and crutches. Dempsey specifically pleaded guilty to assaulting Detective Phuson Nguyen and Sergeant Jason Mastony by pepper-spraying Nguyen and hitting Mastony with a metal crutch.
Before assaulting officers, Dempsey stood in front of a gallows near the Capitol and expressed desire to hang Democratic politicians. Known as #FlagGaiterCopHater, he indicated in a video that he believed politicians he called “worthless cretins” should be hanged as punishment for being “treasonous.”
Dempsey, a former construction worker and fast-food employee with a history of arrests and convictions, was identified by online sleuths who have aided the FBI in prosecuting Jan. 6 rioters. In addition to the Capitol attack, Dempsey had previously been charged with assaulting protesters in California with bear spray in 2019. He had also been involved in other incidents where he assaulted individuals at political protests.
More than 1,400 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, with over 1,000 convictions secured by prosecutors. While many defendants have received probationary sentences, others have been sentenced to incarceration, ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal prison.
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