A 49-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his part in the January 6, 2021 Capitol storming. American media Friday. Peter Schwartz is sentenced for attacking police officers with pepper spray and a chair when he tried to force his way into the US government building with his now ex-wife.
It is the longest prison sentence ever given by a judge to a person involved in the storming of the Capitol. Prosecutors had demanded an even higher sentence, 24 years in prison. The judge called Schwartz a “soldier against democracy” who took part in “the kind of chaos never seen in the history of the country.” Shortly before he was sentenced, Schwartz said he regretted the damage the storming caused, but the judge did not believe that.
The sentence for the Pennsylvania man was particularly severe because he has a long criminal history. According to the AP news agency, he has been convicted 38 times since 1991 for assaulting officers, among other things. He was still on probation when he attacked the Capitol.
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