During a storm by thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump, Peter Schwartz threw a chair at police officers and attacked them with pepper spray. Schwartz, 49, was released during the assault and has a long criminal record. This played a role in determining the amount of the sentence. “Mr. Schwartz, may I say that there are not many people who come into this courtroom who have a criminal history like yours,” Judge Amit Mehta said Friday during the sentencing hearing in Chartz.

Schwartz expressed remorse in court, but the judge said he did not believe it. Judge Mehta told Schwartz that he was not being tried because of his political beliefs or because he was a “political prisoner,” but because he had repeatedly broken the law on January 6.

United States Justice decided to prosecute several alleged rioters after the storming of the Capitol. At least five hundred suspects have already pleaded guilty.

On January 6, 2021, the United States Congress met to formally certify Joe Biden’s electoral victory. The plan of thousands of Trump supporters was to thwart this action and thus keep the outgoing president in power.