WASHINGTON, D.C. - A retired state trooper from Holmdel was spared a prison term for his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but was sentenced Friday to a period of home confinement and probation and assessed monetary penalties and restitution.
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Michael Daniele, 62, to two years on probation, of which the first 30 days must be spent in home confinement, according to court records.
Mehta also ordered Daniele to pay $500 in restitution, a $2,500 fine and a $60 special assessment.
Daniele, who was employed by the New Jersey State Police for 26 1/2 years, retiring in 2013 with a monthly pension of $6,372, faced a bench trial before Mehta in June.
The judge acquitted Daniele of two felony counts of civil disorder, but found him guilty of four misdemeanors: entering or remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Carolyn Jackson and Sarah C. Martin on Friday asked Mehta to imprison Daniele for 11 months, to deter him and others from staging a repeat of the Capitol riot.
"Daniele did not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, so on Jan. 6, he encouraged violence against the police and invaded the Capitol,'' they wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
"With the 2024 presidential election approaching, and many loud voices in the media and online continuing to sow discord and distrust, the potential for a repeat of January 6 looms ominously,'' the assistant U.S. attorneys wrote. "The Court must sentence Daniele in a manner sufficient to deter him specifically, and others generally, from going down that road again.''
Daniele's attorney, Stuart Kaplan, asked that his client receive a conditional discharge or probation without home confinement.
Kaplan, in his sentencing memorandum, said most of the January 6th defendants convicted of misdemeanors have received "a fully probationary sentence,'' with a third of those receiving a limited amount of home confinement.
"There were many individuals who caused physical damage, assaulted police officers and in many other ways disgraced the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol,'' Kaplan wrote. "However, Michael Daniele was not one of those individuals. His crime is based upon his entering the U.S. Capitol. At no time does the evidence provided at trial allege that he was violent or had damaged any property.''
Kaplan also asked that Daniele's clean record and unblemished career as a state trooper weigh in his favor.
But the prosecutors argued Daniele's prior employment was a significant factor to be taken under consideration in sentencing him.
"While Daniele's service with the New Jersey State Police is laudable, it renders his conduct on January 6 all the more troubling,'' they wrote in their sentencing memorandum. "As a former state trooper, Daniele was well aware of the pressure on police officers to secure a location and the dangers posed by a violent crowd during a riot. HIs voluntary decision to chase police officers as they fell back from their position is disturbing in light of his former police service and training.
"He knew more than anyone what the police were up against on Jan. 6, 2021,'' the prosecutors wrote. "Despite that knowledge, he remained on restricted Capitol grounds, watched police get overrun by rioters and ultimately entered the Capitol building.''
Daniele admitted taking a bus to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but testified had he known violence was going to occur, he would have returned to the bus. He also testified he remained on the grounds to return a baseball cap to a Capitol police officer.
"This has been a valuable lesson and one never to be repeated,'' Kaplan wrote in his memorandum.
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com .
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Retired trooper from Holmdel avoids prison for participation in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
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