Man tied to officer's attack pleads guilty to lesser charges

Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. A man who attacked police officers with poles during the U.S. Capitol riot has been sentenced to more than five years in prison. The sentence that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Mark Ponder on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, matches the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

A West Virginia man initially charged with assaulting a police officer who died after defending the U.S. Capitol from a mob pleaded guilty on Wednesday to misdemeanor offenses that could allow him to avoid more jail time.

Another man accused of attacking the officer with bear spray is weighing a stricter plea deal that calls for a prison sentence exceeding six years.

A federal grand jury indicted George Pierre Tanios last year on felony charges that he conspired with a Pennsylvania man, Julian Elie Khater, to assault and injure Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with chemical spray during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.