Sept. 6 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to nine months in prison Tuesday for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Richard Michetti pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting obstruction of an official proceeding in May and was sentenced to nine months in prison followed by 24 months of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.
He was arrested on Feb. 23, 2021, after his ex-girlfriend gave his name to the FBI. Court documents showed he referred to the woman as a “moron” during texts as he took part in the riots.
“If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron,” he wrote in a text to her.
Federal prosecutors sought an 18-month sentence for Michetti, noting he was an active participant in the riot and “believed the certification of the 2020 presidential election was creating a ‘civil war’ and engaged with hundreds of others to jointly try and stop Congress from doing its constitutional duty.”
Michetti entered the Capitol Building with other rioters and was part of a crowd attempting to get past Metropolitan Police Department officers securing the hallway near the Old Senate Chamber, the Justice Department said.
While inside he yelled, “you are starting a civil war” at officers in the Capitol Rotunda.
“He personally confronted police and encouraged other rioters who were assaulting officers in the Old Senate Chamber hallway,” prosecutors said. “Michetti was sprayed twice with irritant and twice remained in the Capitol building despite the clear efforts of police to force him and other rioters to leave.”
