WASHINGTON DC, USA — David Dempsey, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who was prominently seen in front of a gallows during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Friday, August 9, 2024.
The sentence is the second-longest handed down in connection with the Capitol riot to date.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of more than 21 years for Dempsey, who was described in court as one of the most violent participants during the insurrection.
According to court documents, Dempsey “viciously” assaulted multiple law enforcement officers as rioters attempted to breach the Capitol’s lower west tunnel, a site of some of the day’s most intense clashes.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors detailed Dempsey’s brutal actions, noting that he climbed over fellow rioters “like human scaffolding” and used an array of objects—including flag poles, crutches, and pepper spray—as weapons against police officers.
Among the officers Dempsey attacked were Washington Police Detective Phuson Nguyen and Sergeant Jason Mastony.
Dempsey hit Nguyen with a “torrent of pepper spray” after another rioter had compromised the officer’s mask, while Mastony was struck with a metal crutch so forcefully that he collapsed, suffering a head injury.
“Dempsey was one of the most violent rioters, during one of the most violent stretches of time, at the scene of the most violent confrontations at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” prosecutors wrote.
The 20-year sentence was imposed by Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who has consistently expressed concern about the rhetoric used by some Republican politicians in the aftermath of the January 6 attack.
Judge Lamberth criticised Dempsey for “minimizing” his conduct during the riot and for attempting to justify his actions with unfounded claims.
“You failed, fortunately, for our country,” Lamberth said during the sentencing.
The judge warned that January 6 could have been even more catastrophic—potentially a “bloodbath”—had rioters succeeded in reaching members of Congress who were certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
As Dempsey was led out of the courtroom, witnesses reported that he appeared to flash an “okay” gesture, a symbol that has become associated with white supremacy and far-right causes in recent years.
Dempsey’s actions on January 6 were not his first encounter with law enforcement related to political violence.
In 2019, he was charged with dousing anti-Trump demonstrators in California with bear spray while wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence.
He also had a history of violence at political protests, including using a skateboard and a metal bat to assault counterprotesters in separate incidents in 2019 and 2020.
Dempsey was arrested in August 2021 in connection with the Capitol attack and pleaded guilty on January 4, 2024, to multiple charges, including assaulting officers.
His sentencing marks one of the harshest penalties yet in the ongoing prosecutions related to the January 6 insurrection.
To date, more than 1,400 individuals have been arrested for their roles in the January 6 attack, with over 1,000 convictions secured by federal prosecutors.
While many defendants have received probation, more than 560 have been sentenced to varying periods of incarceration, with the longest sentence so far being 22 years.
This case highlights the ongoing efforts by federal authorities to hold those accountable who participated in the violent attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.
