A Colorado man who allegedly hit a police officer with a 2×4 wooden plank during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Friday to nearly three years in prison.
Jacob Travis Clark of Colorado Springs was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release, the Justice Department said in a news release.
Clark had requested nine months in prison and a period of supervised release, according to a sentencing memo written by his lawyer that said Clark “regretted his actions by January 7th.”
During a bench trial in Washington, D.C., this year, Clark was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, a felony, as well as five misdemeanor counts related to his conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jacob Travis Clark inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021.USDCDC
According to court documents, Clark drove to Washington, D.C., a day before the riot and attended former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, sending a text to his father that read: “It’s a trump thing I’m here for the riots when they say he isn’t the winner lol.”
Clark spent roughly 40 minutes inside the Capitol and was seen in video footage holding a 2×4 wooden plank moments before a U.S. Capitol Police officer was struck with it, the Justice Department said.
He also joined a crowd of rioters who threatened law enforcement, later texting images of the breach saying, “I helped break down the door.” He also wrote, “I was the first one in the chamber,” according to court documents.
An attorney for Clark did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.
More than 1,100 people have been charged for crimes related to the Capitol riot, according to the Justice Department.
Last month, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on a seditious conspiracy charge. It was the longest Jan. 6 sentence yet, exceeding the 18 years for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
Zoë Richards
Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.
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