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What has happened to the locals who were accused or found guilty in the Capitol riots four years after January 6?

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What has happened to the locals who were accused or found guilty in the Capitol riots four years after January 6?

Rochester, New York – Four years have passed since rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol to prevent the 2020 presidential election—in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump—from being certified.

Federal charges have been brought against over 1,500 individuals, including several from Rochester, for their roles in the Capitol disturbances on January 6, 2021. Some were shown on camera joining the crowd that stormed the Capitol in favor of Trump, pepper-spraying police, and smashing glass.

During the disturbances, Army soldier James Mault from Brockport and stay-at-home father Cody Mattice from Hilton were both seen on camera deploying pepper spray. They were given prison terms of three years and eight months in 2021. November saw their release.

Among local participants, Dominic Pezzola, a self-described member of Rochester’s Proud Boys, was charged with the most serious offenses. Pezzola was found guilty of attacking or impeding law officers, conspiring to impede Congress from carrying out its duty and obstructing an official procedure. He is currently serving a ten-year term. However, he was judged not guilty of seditious conspiracy, the most serious allegation. As he left the courtroom two years ago for his sentencing, Pezzola yelled, “Trump won,” at reporters.

Others, like James Weeks, a native of Sodus, who was detained in February of last year, are still being held by authorities. In August, a father-son pair, Logan Schimmer and Charles Schimmer Sr., were also apprehended. According to the prosecution, these two Sodus men were among the first to enter the Capitol building.

Trump said those involved had “suffered long and hard,” and he pledged to pardon the rioters when he gets office. He pointed out that more radical individuals might be an exception.

 

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