USA: Capitol Hill rioter Joshua Black, who was shot in face, sentenced to two years in prison

Joshua Matthew Black, a resident of Leeds, Alabama was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 for storming the US Capitol with a knife on his hip.

Following the defeat of the then US president Donald Trump, a riot broke out on Jan 6, 2021. Black was the first rioter to breach a barricade.

Black, an evangelical Christian, is believed to be motivated by his religious beliefs. As stated by Defenceattorney Clark Fleckinger, Black believed God directed him to go to Washington so he could seek atonement for the transgressions of a corrupt Democratic and Republican Party.

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A police officer had shot Black in his left cheek with a crowd-control munition. However, that did not stop him from entering and occupying the Senate Chamber and rummaging through the office of Ted Cruz, the Texas senator.

After being shot in the face, Black was given medical attention by law enforcement. However, in his statements during the court proceedings, he maintainedthat they were trying to pull him ‘behind enemy lines’ while he constantly told them that “I’m with them. I’m here to defend the constitution. I’m a patriot.”

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Rioters around Black became enraged after watching him getting shot in the face, which then led the others to harass and assault police officers.

An FBI search of Black’s house

A search of Black’s home carried out by the FBI on Jan. 14, 2021, resulted in the recovery of the knife that Black carried at the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021. Black was arrested later that day at a police station in Moody.

The Conviction

Black was convicted on the following five charges: entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds, entering and remaining on the floor of Congress and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Black was acquitted of obstructing a Congressional proceeding.

Black’s sentencing

Following the incidents of Jan 6, which shocked everyone, Prosecutors had asked for a five-year prison sentence for Black.
Amy Berman Jackson, a USDistrict Judge, later on, sentenced Black to 22 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.

Sentencing of the Capitol rioters

Following the Capitol Hill attack, more than 1,000 people have been charged with riot-related crimes. Nearly 320 individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Around 500 individuals have been sentenced to imprisonment ranging from seven days to more than 14 years. The investigation is still ongoing.

(With inputs from agencies)

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