Off-duty Virginia police officer sentenced to 87 months for January 6 riot News
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Off-duty Virginia police officer sentenced to 87 months for January 6 riot

Police officer Thomas Robertson was sentenced Thursday to 87 months in prison for his participation in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. According to court documents, Robertson, 49, and co-defendent Jacob Fracker, were both officers with the Rocky Mount, Virginia, Police Department and were off duty when they headed for Washington, DC, in Robertson’s car on the morning of January 6, 2021. Now, Robertson must serve 87 months in prison, complete 36 months supervised release and pay restitution of $2,000.

US Attorney Matthew Graves noted that Robertson participated in the riot “despite swearing an oath of office when he became a police officer” and furthered remarked that Robertson’s “sentence holds him accountable for his role in the violence that day.”

Robertson and Fracker were found guilty on April 11 of six charges, including five felonies: obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds while carrying a dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building while carrying a dangerous weapon, and tampering with a document or proceedings. The men were also convicted of misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

Fifty-five people have been charged to date with crimes related to the attack on the US Capitol. The indictments against Robertson matched those against Guy Revitt, sentenced just days earlier on August 1. David Moerschel, 43, of Tampa, Florida, and Brian Ulrich, 43, of Guyton, Georgia, are similarly charged with federal offenses that include conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, and entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Moerschel is additionally charged with destruction of government property and aiding and abetting. Ulrich and Moerschel are the latest of 18 defendants to be charged in this case. Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarri and William Todd Wilson, regional leader of the Oath Keepers, have also been charged in relation to the riot.

The US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol continues to investigate the riot’s causes.