A Boca Raton man was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot where he joined a mob in “one of the most violent areas” on the U.S. Capitol grounds, according to federal authorities.
Richard Cook, 38, was found guilty of several felony and misdemeanor charges after a jury trial in May. Evidence at trial showed that Cook joined a mob that “relentlessly attacked” officers in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. He entered the tunnel twice that afternoon and joined “a collective push” against officers.
“At the front of the tunnel, rioters used stolen police shields to push against and hit officers, sprayed chemical irritants and threw projectiles at the line of officers guarding the doors, and coordinated group pushes into the officers while chanting ‘HEAVE HO!’ and yelling ‘PUSH!’ Almost immediately upon entering the tunnel, Cook joined the collective efforts to push into the police line,” according to a statement of facts in Cook’s court case.
Cook participated in the collective pushing with the mob of rioters, and “one police officer screamed in pain as the weight of the rioters’ pushes pinned him between a shield and a door,” the DOJ said.
Boca Raton man who joined mob in tunnel at U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 found guilty
Officers pushed Cook and other rioters out of the tunnel eventually, the DOJ said, but he stayed near the tunnel’s entrance to watch and cheer on other rioters who were attacking officers inside for several hours.
Nearly 1,500 people have been charged across the country, in almost every state, since the Jan. 6 riot. At least 17 people were arrested in South Florida according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office’s database.
Also on Wednesday, Orlando Proud Boy Arthur Jackman, who is married to an Orange County deputy sheriff, pleaded guilty for his role in the riot.
He followed the crowd of thousands of rioters who pushed past police barricades into the Capitol and entered the Senate gallery, where he and another rioter stole an American flag, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated Jackman’s wife and determined she did not know about her husband’s involvement before and during the riot.
Federal authorities are still trying to identify other rioters who were seen in photos and videos from that day. Cook was one of those identified through be-on-the-lookout photos. The FBI arrested him in March 2023 in Florida, the DOJ said.
Cook will be on supervised release for three years after his prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton also ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Originally Published: