A Kansas man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers during the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.
Michael Eckerman, 38, of Wichita, was sentenced in the District of Columbia in November 2022. In addition to the 20-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered 24 months of supervised release and $2,000 in restitution.
According to court documents, Eckerman illegally entered the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. At approximately 2 p.m., Eckerman observed rioters fighting with police officers outside the Capitol and encouraged them by yelling at the officers that they were ‘traitors to the country.’
Eckerman and others then walked through scaffolding and up a set of steps leading to the Upper West Terrace. He entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Doors at approximately 2:24 p.m.
Inside the building, Eckerman participated in three separate breaches of police lines. First, he joined a crowd in pushing their collective bodies forward to breach a police line in the Crypt. Eckerman and others then surged forward and funneled toward the east side of the Capitol.
Second, near the Memorial Doors, Eckerman and others in the mob encountered another small group of officers who were trying to block access to nearby stairs leading to Statuary Hall and the area near the Speaker’s Lobby. Eckerman pushed his way to the front of the stand-off and once again used his body as part of a collective surge to get past the small line of law enforcement officers.
Eckerman was arrested on September 20, 2021. This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Related Federal Cases
- Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement on Jan. 6 · Alabama
- Bryan Roger Bishop, Assaulting Law Enforcement, Washington DC, 2021 · District of Columbia
- Florida Man, Assaulting Law Enforcement, Washington DC, 2021 · District of Columbia
- James Parker, Assaulting Law Enforcement, Washington DC, 2021 · Texas
- Cohen, Assaulting Law Enforcement, Washington DC, 2021 · District of Columbia
Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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