A Colorado man on Tuesday was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Jonathan David Grace, 49, was also sentenced to three years of probation, after pleading guilty in October to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.
On the day of the attack, Grace joined other rioters in pushing back against officers who were protecting the Capitol entrance near the building’s lower west terrace, according to the Department of Justice. A narrow hallway ― known as the tunnel ― was the location where “some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement” took place that day, the DOJ said.
At approximately 3 p.m., Grace entered the tunnel, where he stayed fighting police for nearly an hour. Grace also joined a collective effort to push against officers in the tunnel.
The DOJ said:
Rhythmically yelling ‘Heave! Ho!’ as their signal and locking arms or bodies with each other, the rioters would move backward in unison before rocking and pushing forward together. Grace put his head down and used his body weight to forcefully push in unison with the rioters against the police officers. Court documents say that as Grace and the rioters thrust their collective body weight into the officers, one officer could be heard screaming in pain as he was smashed between a shield and a metal door frame.
Grace continued fighting at the front of the mob, “making physical contact with the officers as he assaulted them,” the Justice Department added. He eventually retreated after being sprayed by police with a chemical irritant.
Nearly 1,300 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, in which approximately 140 officers were injured, according to the Justice Department.