UNITED STATES: In a federal court proceeding in Washington, Shane Jason Woods, 44, of Auburn, entered a plea of guilty to one felony count of assaulting, obstructing, or hindering police and one misdemeanour count of hitting, beating, or injuring someone on U.S. soil.
“Even though the combined sentence for the two counts is nine years in prison, according to U.S. sentencing guidelines, Woods would only be given a sentence of 33 to 41 months,” Amit Mehta, a district judge, remarked.
According to a count by the Justice Department, 269 people have been charged with assaulting, obstructing, or resisting police officers that day, compared to a total of 11 people who have been charged with attacking journalists.
In all, over 870 people have been accused of offences connected to the Capitol attack.
Following a furious speech in which the then-president erroneously claimed his loss in the November 2020 election was the product of massive fraud, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.
Investigators claimed in court documents that Woods was caught on camera moving through a forbidden section of the Capitol during the melee while donning a Trump face mask and baseball cap.
He was captured on video assaulting the Reuters reporter and knocking her out. She was pinned by a Capitol Police officer before another cop saved her.
He was also seen attacking a Reuters cameraman who was documenting the protests, pinning the man to the ground with what federal prosecutors called a “blindside shoulder tackle.”
Woods, who took part in the court on Friday via a remote connection, acknowledged bringing the Reuters journalist and police officer to the ground. He was scheduled to be sentenced on January 13 at 1:00 pm. ET.
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