Fort Bragg soldier sentenced to prison for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
A Fort Bragg soldier who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced by Chief District Judge Beryl Howell on July 15 to more than three years in prison.
Spc. James Phillip Mault pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.
In exchange for the plea, charges of civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering a redistricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon, two counts of disorderly and disruptive conduct, and two counts of physical violence were dismissed.
Mault was arrested on Oct. 6 at Fort Bragg.
At the time of Mault's arrest, an 18th Airborne Corps spokesman said, Mault, joined the Army in May 2021, several months after the incident.
According to court records of “facts justifying the sentence” in the case, Mault texted his co-defendant Cody James Mattice to pre-plan for the events of Jan. 6.
Mattice made the same plea and received the same sentence as Mault on July 15.
Court records state that Mault texted Mattice on Jan. 3, 2021, to tell Mattice that he purchased pepper spray and a legal baton.
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Mault encouraged Mattice and others to purchase a "baton, pepper spray, (expletive) kicking boots, a helmet, and eye protection" in a Jan. 5, 2021, text.
Court records say that after attending former President Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, Mault and Mattice did not enter the Capitol building, “but they were active participants on the front lines of the struggle against police officers” and that videos demonstrate “their aggressive efforts to lead the mob to break the police lines.”
During the afternoon, Mault and Mattice joined the mob outside the Capitol on the West Plaza, as Mattice filmed Mault taunting a line of police officers.
“Most of you guys served. We fought for a free country. We fought for this. We didn’t fight for the communists, man. You know that,” Mault said in the video, according to court records.
Mault told the officers they would still have their jobs after the group “kicked the (expletive) out of everything,” and that what the rioters were doing was right, otherwise there wouldn’t have been that many people there.
Court records say that as Mattice moved to tear town a segment of a barrier, Mault and Mattice were seen pushing through the police line.
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Later in the afternoon, Mault and Mattice made their way to the lower west terrace tunnel, which was “the site of some of the worst violence that day,” according to court records.
“Both body-surfed over members of the mob to get to the opening of the tunnel,” court records say.
After Mattice sprayed a chemical agent in the tunnel toward police, Mault also discharged a canister in the tunnel and hung on to an archway to pass a pink canister that someone else in the crowd sprayed at police.
Court records say that Mattice later sent text messages to friends and family bragging about breaking the police line with Mault.
“Me and James got everyone to push through the police,” Mattice said in one message, according to court documents. “Me and James fought through the police line on the doorstep. No one would push, so me and James did and everyone followed.”
Court records say that the following day, Mault and Mattice exchanged messages about the potential legal jeopardy.
According to court records, Mault will serve his sentence at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, or at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
Once completing his 44-month sentence, he will be on three years of supervised release. He is also required to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Judge sentences Fort Bragg soldier for joining in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
