Seattle Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Capitol Breach

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A Washington State man has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

According to court documents, Devlyn Thompson, 28, of Seattle, was among individuals in a crowd on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol who were pushing against and assaulting Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers in the tunnel leading into the U.S. Capitol. Thompson and others in the tunnel yelled obscenities at police and encouraged the continued assault. Thompson was part of a group that threw objects and projectiles at the officers, including flag poles, and grabbed and stole the officers’ riot shields to prevent them from defending themselves against the violence.

At approximately 2:21 p.m., Thompson personally observed police order rioters to stop, physically push the crowd back, and deploy pepper spray in an effort to try to stop the ongoing assault. Later, Thompson entered a tunnel on the West Front Terrace that led to an entrance to the U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress were sheltering in place. Thompson joined rioters in that tunnel and assisted other rioters in their assault of officers by helping them seize and use stolen law enforcement shields for approximately 13 minutes. Thompson also helped throw a large speaker at the front line of officers, and he later picked up a metal baton from the floor of the tunnel and swung it overhead and downward against the police line in an apparent effort to knock a can of pepper spray from an officer’s hand and stop the officer from pepper-spraying the rioters. After more pepper spray was deployed by the rioters and the officers, Thompson retreated from the archway area.

Thompson pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, in the District of Columbia, to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon. Thompson was arrested on that same date and has been in custody ever since. Judge Royce C. Lamberth also ordered him today to pay $2,000 in restitution. He also must serve a period of three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term.