The son of a New York judge who stormed the US Capitol wearing a furry “caveman” suit was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Aaron Mostofsky was “literally at the forefront” of the January 6, 2021, mafia attack.
“What you and others have done that day has left an indelible mark on the way our nation is perceived, both at home and abroad, and this cannot be undone,” the 35-year-old judge said. annual Mostofsky.
Boasberg also sentenced Mostofsky to one year of controlled release and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service and pay $ 2,000 in restitution.
Mostofsky asked the judge for mercy, saying he was ashamed of his “contribution to the chaos of the day”.
“I feel sorry for the officers who had to deal with this chaos,” said Mostofsky, who is due to appear in prison in about a month.
Mostofsky was carrying a cane and was wearing a furry suit when he joined the crowd that attacked the Capitol. He told a friend that the suit expressed his belief that “even a caveman” would know that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen by former President Donald Trump.
Also Friday, a federal judge agreed to adjourn a trial in July for members of the far-right Oath of Guardians militia group accused of plotting to forcibly halt a peaceful transfer of power following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
The first trial against five of the nine members of the Oath Keepers accused of rebellious conspiracy, including group founder Stuart Rhodes, is now scheduled to begin on September 26 and is expected to last about a month. The second trial for the other four defendants is scheduled for November 29.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta agreed to give defense attorneys more time to prepare for the trial, but said he was reluctant to allow another adjournment. Several advocates have expressed concern about the possible impact if a congressional committee investigating the January 6 riot released its report at about the same time as the first trial. Mehta said this would not be a reason for another delay, “even if 435 members of Congress start reading from the Court’s steps report.”
More than 780 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 280 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to crimes.
A Tennessee man, the head of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty Friday to assaulting an officer at the Sofia Police Department, Michael Fanone. Head dragged Fanone into a mob of rebels who beat him, shocked him with a stunning gun, and stole his badge and police radio. An Iowa man, Kyle Young, pleaded guilty Thursday to attacking Fanone, who was seriously wounded by rebels and has since testified before Congress about the attack.
More than 160 defendants have been convicted, including more than 60, who have been sentenced to 14 days to five years and three months in prison.
In Mostofsky’s case, federal sentencing guidelines recommend a prison sentence ranging from 10 months to 16 months. Prosecutors recommend a sentence of 15 months in prison, followed by three years of controlled release.
Prosecutors say Mostofsky was one of the first rebels to enter the restricted area around the Capitol and one of the first to break into the building through the Senate Wing. He crashed into a police barrier that officers were trying to move and stole a bulletproof vest and shield to fight riots by Capitol police, prosecutors said.
“Mostofsky applauded other rebels as they clashed with police in front of the Capitol building, even celebrating with a fist to one of his fellow rebels,” prosecutors wrote in a court file.
Inside the building, Mostofsky followed the rebels, who chased Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs to the Senate halls. He took his police vest and shield with him when he left the Capitol, about 20 minutes after he entered.
Mostofsky often wears costumes to events, according to his lawyers.
“To underestimate the issue, the New Yorker is strange even by the standards of his hometown,” they wrote.
A New York Post reporter interviewed him at the Capitol during the riot. He told the reporter he stormed the Capitol because “the election was stolen.”
Mostofsky worked as an assistant architect in New York. His father, Stephen Mostofsky, is a judge at Brooklyn State Court.
“The fact that his father is a judge means that he should have been better able than the other defendants to understand why allegations of electoral fraud were false,” said Justice Ministry prosecutor Michael Romano.
Boasberg said none of the letters of support sent by Mostofski’s family and friends explained how he “went down into this rabbit hole of electoral fantasy.”
“I hope you understand at this point that your devotion to this fantasy has led to this tragic situation,” the judge added.
Aaron Mostofsky pleaded guilty in February to charges of a crime of civil disorder and charges of theft of state property and entering and staying in a building or restricted area. Mostofsky was the first Capitol rebel to be convicted of civil disorder.
Mostofsky’s lawyers demanded a sentence of house arrest, probation and community service. Defense attorney Nicholas Smith described Mostofsky as a “spectator” who “drifted with the crowd” and did not go to the Capitol to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
“He did things he shouldn’t have done,” Smith said. “But there is a big difference between an ideologue who is motivated to commit violence and someone who ends up doing bad things when he finds himself” in a crowd.
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