A Florida man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to three felonies, including assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The Justice Department (DOJ) announced the sentencing of Kenneth Bonawitz, a 58-year-old “Proud Boys” member, whom DOJ described as “one of the more violent January 6 rioters.”
Bonawitz was sentenced to 60 months in prison, 36 months supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines. He also pleaded guilty to felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, the DOJ said.
Bonawitz “assaulted at least six law enforcement officers on the West Plaza” on Jan. 6, 2021. The attacks, several of which are detailed in the news release, “included hurling himself at officers and tackling them to the ground, placing one officer in a chokehold, and lifting the officer up by the neck,” the DOJ said.
One police officer who had also been a first responder at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, the DOJ said, was injured “so severely that the officer has now been forced to retire from the United States Capitol Police.”
Bonawitz, who was carrying an eight-inch knife in a sheath attached to his belt, was at the front of the crowd that pushed through the police defensive line near the West Front, DOJ said.
As police were trying to hold rioters back, Bonawitz climbed onto the pre-set presidential inauguration stage, and “he then ran the length of the stage, raised his arms, threw himself into the air as the stage ended, and used his outstretched arms to tackle two United States Capitol Police officers who were standing at the base of a short set of stairs.”
After the two officers managed to confiscate his knife, Bonawitz managed to slip away from the officers “due to the unfolding chaos,” after they confiscated his knife. He then rejoined the mob, DOJ said. He assaulted four separate officers with DC Police “almost immediately…in a melee.”
At one point, Bonawitz shoved an officer, who stumbled forward and then turned around to face Bonawitz. Bonawitz then “wrapped his arms around the officer from behind, inserted his forearm under the officer’s shield, and then put the officer in a chokehold. He briefly lifted the officer off the ground and caused the officer to gag before struggling free of his grip.”
He assaulted three more officers before leaving, DOJ said.
The DOJ noted Bonawitz gave two media interviews as he was leaving, during which he identified himself and described some of his interactions with police.
More than 1,265 people have been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including more than 440 who were criminally charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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