Devlyn Thompson of Seattle, Washington was sentenced Monday by a federal district court in Washington, DC for assaulting a police officer in a tunnel during the January 6 breach of the US Capitol.
District Court Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Thompson to 46 months in prison. Thompson pleaded guilty on August 6 to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon.
The sentence was in line with the prosecution’s request for a four year sentence to “reflect the gravity of Thompson’s actions after having joined a violent mob at the U.S. Capitol, while also acknowledging his exceptionally early cooperation and admission of guilt.” Thompson was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and to serve a period of three years of supervised released following the completion of his sentence.
Thompson’s lawyer sought a one-year sentence on grounds of his inability to understand the gravity of his actions owing to his autism. In this regard, the court filing stated: “Autism is not and should not be an excuse for bad behavior, but rather, it should be considered when a person’s individual culpability and degree of social understanding is called into question.”
On the day of the breach, Thompson was part of a group that crowded in the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol and launched flag poles and other dangerous objects at officers of the Metropolitan Police Department. They also snatched riot shields from the officers to disable their defense. Thompson helped in throwing a speaker at the officers and swung a metal baton at an officer to stop him from pepper-spraying the rioters.
Thompson has received the one of longest prison sentences among the Capitol rioters so far. On Sunday, another rioter, Robert Scott Palmer, was sentenced to five years for throwing a plank and a fire extinguisher at the police.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has reported that more than 700 individuals have been arrested for crimes such as assaulting or impeding law enforcement in relation to the breach of the Capitol.
