A man who participated in the Jan. 6 capitol riot receives a 63-month prison sentence in a Washington DC court, matching the longest sentence given out so far.
Mark Ponder, 56, of Washington DC, was sentenced to a tern three months longer than prosecutors had requested, the same sentence given to Robert Palmer of Florida who pleaded guilty to assaulting capitol police, the Associated Press reported.
Ponder said that he “got caught up” in the events of Jan. 6 and “didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“I wasn’t thinking that day,” Ponder said to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking for leniency before he received five years and three months in jail.
Ponder is one of more than 200 capitol rioters who have been trial and sentenced. He shares the record for longest prison term handed out with Palmer.
Chutkan accused Ponder of “leading the charge” against police officers trying to push back the mob that was storming the capitol.
“This is not ‘caught up,’ Mr. Ponder,” she said. “He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest.”
Ponder pleaded guilty in April to assault. During the riot, he picked up a pole and hit an officer’s shield, then went back into the crowd, where he picked up a second pole and hit two other officers before he was placed in handcuffs and arrested.