New Jersey man gets 12 years for violent acts during Jan. 6 riot
(NYT) — A New Jersey man who started a brawl with police officers while rioting at the U.S. Capitol with other supporters of former President Donald Trump was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday after being convicted of more than a dozen crimes.
The man, Christopher Joseph Quaglin, an electrician from North Brunswick, New Jersey, wore a helmet fitted with a camera on Jan. 6, 2021, as he participated in the storming of the Capitol, where surveillance video showed him attacking police officers with a stolen riot shield and spraying them with a chemical irritant, prosecutors said.
After returning to his hotel room that night, Quaglin recorded videos of himself describing his participation, prosecutors said.
“I was the guy in the red, white and blue hoodie and the black helmet,” he said. “I’m absolutely on a loop on Fox News.”
At another point, he continued to narrate his involvement in the events of Jan. 6 while cooking a steak in the hotel room shower, prosecutors said.
Quaglin, 37, was tried in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and convicted in July of 14 crimes, including 12 felonies. He was sentenced by Judge Trevor McFadden.
According to court documents, Quaglin was part of the initial group of people who overtook the police line and barricades around the Capitol, opening a path for other rioters to pour into the West Front area. Quaglin was seen in footage engaging in violent acts against the police, including tackling officers and grabbing one by the neck, prosecutors said.
Quaglin was identified by law enforcement when an anonymous source provided four Facebook live videos of a man, later identified as Quaglin, walking toward the Capitol and narrating his conduct throughout the day.
During the sentencing, Quaglin hurled insults at McFadden, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, calling him “Trump’s worst mistake,” according to a report by The Associated Press.
He also took issue with the characterization of the Capitol riot as an insurrection, the AP reported, saying, “If I wanted to bring an insurrection, I would have brought a long gun.”
