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Colorado man sentenced to 30 months in Jan. 6 case. He's one of at least 13 Coloradans charged in connection with Capitol riot.

Colorado man sentenced to 30 months in Jan. 6 riot case
Colorado man sentenced to 30 months in Jan. 6 riot case 00:30

A Peyton, Colo. man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Thomas Patrick Hamner, 49, was sentenced in the District of Columbia Friday.

According to court documents, Hamner "illegally entered the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, which was barricaded with fencing."

Hamner hopped over the barricades and began pulling them down, according to the Department of Justice.

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Thomas Patrick Hamner, of Peyton, Colo., as seen at the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot.   U.S. District Court  

Around 1:15 p.m. that day, Hamner got into a "tug-of-war" with a Capitol Police officer and an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department over a bike rack that was being used as a barricade. 

Later that afternoon, Hamner joined others in pushing a large metal sign into a defensive line formed by law enforcement, DOJ said.

Photos from the riot show Hamner wearing a helmet and Christmas-style sweater that reads, "Guns don't kill people, Clintons do."

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Thomas Patrick Hamner, of Peyton, Colo., as seen at the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot. U.S. District Court

He was arrested on Nov. 9, 2021, in Colorado Springs and indicted on six charges, including five felonies.

Those charges include:

  • Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting;
  • Civil disorder and aiding and abetting;
  • Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon;
  • Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon;
  • Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

He pleaded guilty on May 17 to interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder; a felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the remaining five charges and is awaiting further court proceedings.

Hamner must pay $2,000 in restitution and, once he completes his prison sentence, he'll be on supervised release for three years. 

In the months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 870 people have been arrested in almost every state for crimes related to the Capitol riot. Among them are 265 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

At least 13 Coloradoans have been charged in connection with Jan. 6.

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