Patrick McCaughey III, who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during the US Capitol insurrection was sentenced to more than 7 years in jail on Friday.
US District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced McCaughey to 7.5 years in prison and two years of supervised release. He described McCaughey as a “poster child of all that was dangerous and appalling about” January 6, 2021, riot.
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“Your actions are some of the most egregious crimes that were committed on that dark day,” the judge said to McCaughey.
Who is Patrick McCaughey III?
During a bench trial in September 2022, Patrick McCaughey was found guilty on nine charges and seven felony charges. One felony charge was for assaulting Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges with a dangerous weapon.
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He was one of the several rioters involved in the assault on Hodges. According to court documents, while in the tunnel of the lower west terrace of the Capitol, McCaughey pinned Hodges to a door with a stolen police shield while another attacker ripped Hodges’ gas mask off.
McCaughey is 25 years old and lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He expressed shame for joining the mod of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters who violated the Capitol.
McCaughey’s sentence is the second longest prison sentence issued to any January 6 defendant so far. McFadden said that McCaughey’s young age and no previous criminal history impacted his sentencing decision. He had never even received a speeding ticket. He said it was an important distinction that McCaughey did not go to the Capital with a mob mentality.
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During his statement, McCaughey said that for the rest of his life, he will have to deal with people finding videos of him on the internet “behaving like a thug.”
