Man who injured officer during Capitol riots gets 5 years

Lina PortmanJune 3, 2024

0 3 minutes read

WASHINGTON — A military veteran convicted of injuring a police officer's hand during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.

This image taken from police body camera video and contained in the Justice Department's sentencing memorandum shows John George T…

John George Todd III refused to address the court before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced him. The judge said Todd, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, showed no remorse for his role in degrading the country's “fragile” democratic institutions.

Download The Times and Democrat app today

“This is not patriotic. This is not conduct worthy of a Marine,” the judge told Todd, 34.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 12 years and seven months for Todd, who left his Missouri home to attend then-President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. on June 6 January.

“As the country approaches another contentious election year, which will see a rematch of the 2020 presidential election that was at stake for the rioters on January 6, each conviction handed down on January 6 sends a message about the importance of democratic values and the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote.

The Washington Post says it reported a story a few years ago about a controversial flag flying outside the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, but chose not to write about it. The story broke in the New York Times earlier this month about an upside-down American flag outside the Alito House shortly after the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection — a symbol that had been used by some supporters of former President Donald Trump. day. The Post said it accepted the explanation that Alito's wife was responsible for the flag, and that it was not sure whether the dispute was political.

After entering the Capitol, Todd repeatedly pushed officers inside the Rotunda, ignored orders to leave and yelled profanities at police.

Todd carried a fiberglass pole attached to a flag. When a Metropolitan Police officer tried to wrench it from him, Todd and the officer fought for control of the pole until it broke and severed the officer's hand.

The officer, Noah Rathbun, required seven stitches and missed nine days of work. Todd argued the officer's injuries were self-inflicted.

Another rioter, Thomas Webster, a retired NYPD officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attacking Rathbun outside the Capitol earlier in the day. Webster swung a flagpole at Rathbun, then tackled him and grabbed his gas mask.

Todd has been jailed since a jury convicted him in February of six counts, including obstructing the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory over Trump.

“This was a dangerous first, where the peaceful transition to a new presidential administration was disrupted,” the judge said.

Todd was initially only charged with misdemeanors, but a grand jury indicted him on felony charges after prosecutors discovered video of him assaulting Rathbun.

After his arrest, Todd repeatedly violated the conditions of his pretrial release. He moved from Blue Springs, Missouri, to South Carolina to be in the care of his sister.

Todd's lawyers said he was a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who needed mental health treatment, not incarceration.

“Incarceration would only exacerbate Mr. Todd’s health and mental health issues,” a defense attorney wrote last year.

Todd was a Marine from 2009 to 2013 and served in Afghanistan, his family said. Todd received an “other than honorable” discharge from the Army because of his alcohol abuse, according to prosecutors.

More than 100 police officers were injured during the riot. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riots. Nearly 900 of them were convicted, with two-thirds of them receiving prison sentences ranging from a few days to 22 years.