Retired air force officer convicted for Capitol attack

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Mar 2023 09:11

Brock was sentenced to two years of jail, followed by two years of supervised release.

A mob of supporters of US President Donald Trump fight with members of law enforcement at a door they broke open as they stormed the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. (Reuters)

Larry Brock, a retired Air Force officer, was sentenced to two years in prison for storming the US Capitol on Friday.

The retired officer, 55, joined the riots on the Senate floor minutes after Vice President, Mike Pence, senators, and staff members evacuated the chamber to escape the attackers on January 2021.

Brock was sentenced to two years of jail, followed by two years of supervised release. US District Judge John Bates also ordered Brock to perform 100 hours of community service.

Brock, who refused to speak in court before the judge, is to be detained at a date yet to be determined. Persecutors originally recommended a sentence of five years, followed by three years of supervised release.

Judge Bates convicted the former officer back in November after a trial without the presence of a jury. Brock had waived his right to a jury trial.

Bates pointed out that Brock has expressed "very troubling" and violent rhetoric before the riot on January 6. He also read aloud several of Brock's social media postings and commented on them.

“That’s chilling stuff, and it does reflect a purpose to stop the certification of the election,” Bates said.

An example would be that Brock believed in baseless conspiracy theories that the presidential election in 2020 was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

“When we get to the bottom of this conspiracy we need to execute the traitors that are trying to steal the election, and that includes the leaders of the media and social media aiding and abetting the coup plotters,” Brock wrote in a Nov. 9. 2020, post on Facebook.

“Begin interrogations using measures we used on al-Qaida to gain evidence on the coup,” he wrote.

His “plan of action” also called for a “general pardon for all crimes up to and including murder of those restoring the Constitution and putting down the Democratic Insurrection.”

“Do not kill LEO unless necessary,” he wrote referring to law enforcement officers.

“Had the Senate Gallery not been emptied minutes before, Brock could have come face-to-face with the politicians he had fantasized about seizing and interrogating,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

The court filing also included that if Mr. Brock was in reality motivated by high ideals, this should significantly reduce his culpability even if the court disagrees with his views.

Brock was wearing his helmet and tactical vest when he joined the riot attacking the Capitol.

A retired Air Force major general wrote a letter to the judge praising Brock's military service since, as mentioned in the letter, Brock risked his life to protect US forces from a Taliban attack.

“The result thwarted enemy advances on U.S. personnel, saved U.S. lives, and defused an ever-escalating situation for the forces at that remote base in Afghanistan,” the major general wrote.