Man's 63-month prison term matches longest for Capitol riot

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July 26th, 2022

Rioters break into the Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. A far-right internet personality has pleaded guilty to joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, where he streamed live video that incriminated him and other rioters. Court records show that Anthime Gionet, known as "Baked Alaska" to his social media followers, faces a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment after pleading guilty on Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions.

Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he “got caught up” in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and “didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“I wasn’t thinking that day,” Ponder told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asking her for mercy before she sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

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