First Jan. 6 Defendant to Breach Capitol Sentenced to 4 Years Behind Bars

A Kentucky man who became the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection was sentenced on Tuesday to 53 months behind bars. Michael Sparks, 46, was convicted by a jury in March of six criminal charges, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. Video footage from the day showed him jumping through a broken window and later joining a group of other rioters to chase a police officer up a flight of stairs. “This is our America!” he yelled at one point. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said that Sparks’ entrance had had an “emboldening, encouraging effect” on other rioters, according to the Associated Press. “To say it wasn’t a material, key point in the mob’s taking of the Capitol, I think, is just ignoring the obvious.” When he addressed the court at his sentencing hearing, Sparks said that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was “completely taken,” and that “to this day [America is] in tyranny.”

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