WASHINGTON (AP) — On Thursday, a Florida man was sentenced to four years in prison for using a flagpole to attack officers who were defending the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Court records indicate that Michael Steven Perkins, 40, of Plant City, was sentenced in District of Columbia federal court. His co-defendant, Joshua Christopher Doolin, 25, of Lakeland, received a sentence of one year and six months on Wednesday.
Both Perkins and Doolin were previously convicted of felony charges, including civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
Doolin was additionally convicted of theft of government property, while Perkins was separately convicted of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and engaging in acts of physical violence while on the restricted Capitol grounds.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
According to officials, Doolin and Perkins were arrested on June 30, 2021, along with co-defendants Joseph Hutchinson and Olivia Pollock. Hutchinson and Pollock became fugitives in March after tampering with their ankle monitors and disappearing.
Jonathan Pollock, another co-defendant, is still at large, and the FBI has offered a reward of up to $30,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Court documents reveal that Doolin and Perkins were among those who objected to President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The January 6 mob attack on the Capitol aimed to prevent Congress from certifying the election results for Biden. Tragically, five people lost their lives during the violence.
During the trial, evidence and testimony showed that Doolin and Perkins were present on the west side of the Capitol during the incident. Prosecutors stated that Hutchinson, pushed by Perkins, charged a line of police officers in an attempt to breach the line.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
As officers went into the crowd to aid their colleagues, Perkins used a flagpole to strike an approaching officer in the chest. He then raised the flagpole over his head and swung it down, hitting two officers in the back of their heads.
Doolin and Perkins moved closer to the Capitol building, with Doolin obtaining a crowd-control spray canister from the Metropolitan Police Department and a riot shield from the U.S. Capitol Police. Doolin then positioned himself in a Capitol building entrance passageway, where he used the stolen riot shield to support the rioting crowd pushing against the police officers trying to defend the passageway and gain entry into the Capitol.
Doolin’s attorney has stated that he plans to appeal his convictions. The Associated Press has not received a response from Perkins’ attorney at this time.
Since January 6, 2021, over 1,100 individuals have been arrested for crimes related to the Capitol breach, with more than 350 people charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.
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