Florida man sentenced to nearly 5 years for attacking police officer during Jan. 6 riot

A Florida man was sentenced to nearly five years in prison on Friday for attacking a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, 27-year-old Mason Joel Courson from Tamarac, Florida was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty in November to assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon.

Court documents state that Courson was part of a mob that confronted law enforcement officials at the Archway and tunnels leading into the Capitol building from the lower west terrace during the insurrection. Hundreds of rioters gathered there by 4:20 p.m., and some of them were throwing or swinging various objects at officers.

The release states that one rioter climbed over a railing and began hitting an officer with a crutch and kicking him. He and two other rioters then grabbed the officer and dragged him down the steps into the crowd.

Courson was at the bottom of the steps and beat the officer with a police baton while other rioters hit him with other objects, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. The officer received multiple injuries including bruises and abrasions.

The release states that Courson was one of nine defendants charged in the case, and four of his fellow defendants have previously pleaded guilty to charges they faced.

Courson was initially arrested in December 2021 on multiple charges.

He was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release after completing his prison sentence and pay $2,000 in restitution.

More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in almost all 50 states with crimes related to the insurrection, including almost 350 who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

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