Maine Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Assaulting Law Enforcement on Jan. 6

Maine Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Assaulting Law Enforcement on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON – Matthew Brackley, a 40-year-old man from Waldoboro, Maine, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Brackley pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers on Jan. 18, 2024. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and restitution by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols. Additionally, Brackley will serve 24 months of supervised release after his prison term.

According to court documents, Brackley attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on the National Mall and then made his way to the U.S. Capitol building. He arrived on the Capitol’s West lawn at about 1:40 p.m., where a large crowd had gathered. Brackley stood in the crowd near the Lower West Terrace, where he observed rows of bike rack barricades and uniformed police officers preventing people from advancing towards the Capitol.

Brackley then approached a set of stairs underneath a scaffolding erected to construct the Inaugural stage. Other rioters had climbed onto the scaffolding and shredded the white tarp covering it, giving Brackley and others better access to the stairs. Brackley and other rioters then flooded up the stairs and advanced towards the Capitol building. Brackley entered the U.S. Capitol via the Senate Wing Door at 2:23 p.m. From there, he made his way to the Crypt, where a large group of rioters had filled the room and pushed against a line of U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officers.

The rioters in the Crypt eventually overwhelmed the line of USCP officers, gaining further access to the Capitol. Brackley and several dozen rioters entered a hallway behind the Crypt where USCP officers again stopped them; however, they moved past these officers and continued down the hall. Brackley traveled through the Rotunda and eventually made his way to the Senate Chamber, which had been evacuated several minutes earlier.

Here, Brackley and others were stopped by USCP officers. Two of these officers told Brackley to ‘back up,’ and one officer gave him a small push backward. Brackley, however, did not retreat and asked where Pelosi’s office was as others behind him shouted obscenities. After about 40 seconds of conversation with the officers, Brackley turned to the crowd behind him and shouted, ‘Let’s go!’ He then leaned forward and, with both elbows extended outward, pushed through the two officers, leading the crowd behind him further into the hallway towards the Senate Chamber.

A police line formed as the rioters pushed against the officers, who tried to back the crowd away from the Senate Chamber. A standstill then ensued between the rioters and USCP officers in the hallway, and Brackley stood among the crowd as others shouted expletives directed at Members of Congress, including ‘F— McConnell.’ The rioters then resumed pushing against the USCP police officers while chanting ‘USA.’

An officer then deployed chemical spray in the hallway, causing Brackley and other rioters to retreat. Brackley exited the Capitol through the South Door at 3:05 p.m., over 40 minutes after he first entered the building.

The FBI arrested Brackley on July 21, 2023, in Maine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine providing valuable assistance.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Boston and Washington, D.C. field offices.

RELATED: Wyoming-Idaho Coke Ring Crumbles: Final Dealer Sentenced

RELATED: Eau Claire Meth Kingpin Gets Decade Behind Bars