Capitol rioter guilty of stealing badge from beaten officer

(AP) — A New York man pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing a badge and radio from a police officer who was brutally beaten as rioters pulled him into the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol over two years ago, court record show.

Thomas Sibick pleaded guilty to assault and theft charges for his role in the attack on Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is scheduled to sentence Sibick on July 28. The judge allowed Sibick to remain free on bond until that hearing.

Estimated sentencing guidelines call for Sibick to receive a prison sentence ranging from a low of two years and nine months to a high of nearly six years, according to his plea agreement.

Rioters kicked, punched, grabbed and shocked Fanone with a stun gun after pulling him away from other officers who were guarding a tunnel entrance on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace. Another rioter threatened to take Fanone's gun and kill him.

Fanone's body camera captured Sibick removing the officer's badge and radio from his tactical vest during the mob's attack, according to a court filing accompanying his guilty plea.

Others in the crowd escorted Fanone back to the police line. Before FBI agents showed him the body camera video, Sibick initially denied assaulting Fanone and claimed that he tried in vain to pull the officer away from his attackers.

Sibick said he buried Fanone's badge in his backyard after returning home to Buffalo, New York. He returned the badge, but Fanone's $5.500 radio hasn't been recovered.

Other rioters have been charged with attacking Fanone, who lost consciousness and was taken to an emergency room.

Albuquerque Cosper Head, a Tennessee man who dragged Fanone into the crowd, was sentenced in October 2022 to seven years and six month in prison. During Head's sentencing, Fanone said the attack gave him a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury and ultimately cost him his career.

Kyle Young, an Iowa man who grabbed Fanone by the wrist and handed a stun gun to another rioter who used it on the officer, was sentenced in September 2022 to seven years and two months in prison.

A California man, Daniel Rodriguez, pleaded guilty in February to using a stun gun on Fanone during the attack. Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16.

Approximately 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot on Jan. 6, when the mob of Donald Trump supporters disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory. More than 500 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Approximately 400 have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.

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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

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