David Dempsey came prepared for battle, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of assaulting police with dangerous or deadly weapons. David N. Dempsey came to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol well prepared and well experienced in committing violence at political rallies. Dempsey wore a bullet-proof tactical vest, a black helmet, a gaiter to obscure most of his face, and he brought a spare gaiter and shirt that he changed into during the riot.Before climbing up over rioters on the steps of the Capitol, he gave an interview in front of the gallows constructed nearby and rattled off the names of prominent Democrats he hated. “They don’t need a jail cell,” Dempsey said. “They need to hang from these.” Dempsey then repeatedly attacked police officers in the lower West Terrace tunnel for more than an hour, throwing poles and deploying bear spray at the line of officers protecting the Capitol. He then sprayed bear spray directly inside the mask of one officer, who testified that he thought he might die, and used a crutch to smash one officer’s head, giving him a concussion. Senior U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Dempsey, 37, to 20 years in prison Friday, the second-longest sentence of the approximately 950 defendants sentenced so far (…) “Your conduct on January 6 was especially egregious,” Lamberth told Dempsey. “You didn’t make a split-second decision to use violence. You did not get carried away in the moment. You have a long and well-documented history of inflicting violence on political opponents.” (…) The judge also weighed Dempsey’s lengthy criminal history in California for burglary, drug dealing, evading police and “assault with a caustic chemical,” for spraying bear spray at anti-Trump protesters in 2020, one of multiple attacks he allegedly launched at political rallies.
via washington post: Man who violently fought cops gets 2nd longest Jan. 6 sentence: 20 years