Jan. 6 rioter who pinned officer in door sentenced to more than 7 years in prison

Jared Gans
Updated ·2 min read
63

A man who pinned an officer into a doorframe with a stolen riot shield during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday.

A release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia states that Patrick McCaughey III, a 25-year-old from Connecticut, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for nine offenses.

McCaughey was convicted in September on seven felony charges, including three counts of aiding or abetting or assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, and two misdemeanors.

McCaughey was involved in one of the most widely known moments of the day, when Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges screamed as he was crushed into a metal door frame for more than two minutes.

Hodges was disarmed and attacked by other rioters as the mob tried to force their way through the lower west terrace tunnel.

The release states that McCaughey, along with 26-year-old Tristan Stevens from Florida and 63-year-old David Mehaffie from Ohio, traveled from their homes to D.C. and illegally came to the Capitol grounds.

McCaughey and Stevens taunted officers at the West Front, while Mehaffie called on other rioters to break the police perimeter.

The release states that the three of them broke through a police line at about 2:30 p.m. and scaled the southwest scaffolding and staircase to come together at the tunnel under the platform that was being designed for use in President Biden’s inauguration.

Officers stationed at the lower west terrace guarded the door to the Capitol from the mob, but the three men tried to break into the building by directing other rioters, participating in “heave-hos” against a police line, using riot shields stolen from police and assaulting three officers.

McCaughey specifically used a riot shield as a “weapon.” The three remained illegally on the Capitol grounds even after officers cleared the tunnel, according to the release.

The release states McCaughey was arrested on Jan. 19, 2021, in South Salem, N.Y.

The DOJ sought an almost 16-year sentence for McCaughey.

Stevens and Mehaffie were convicted of crimes from the insurrection in September along with McCaughey.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.