A man from Colorado has been sentenced to over five years in prison for aiding in dragging a law enforcement officer into a crowd during the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to prosecutors.
In addition to his prison sentence, Jeffrey Sabol, 53, was also given three years of supervised release and was told to pay over $32,000 in restitution, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He has been found guilty of three serious charges including obstruction of an official proceeding related to his actions during the January 6 riot.
Sabol traveled from Colorado to Washington, D.C., to witness former President Trump speak at his “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse on the day of the January 6 riot, according to court documents. He traveled with other members of a “self-described ‘neighborhood watch’ group.”
“Before leaving, the group members discussed what to bring with them,” the press release said. “On the advice of one group member, Sabol packed a helmet, a trauma kit, a buck knife, and zip ties.”
After the rally, he went to the Capitol and joined the riot, the release said. At one point, he “helped two rioters in dragging a law enforcement officer down the steps and into” a mob, where “rioters beat the officer with a flagpole and a baton.”
Later, Sabol “deleted text messages and other communications from his cell phone,” prosecutors wrote.
He also attempted to escape the U.S. and booked a flight to Switzerland, but could not board the aircraft and “rented a car and drove toward Westchester, New York, where the FBI arrested him on January 11, 2021,” according to the documents.
Sabol admitted during his hearing that he is “100 percent” guilty and said he would have apologized to the officers if they had been present, according to The Associated Press.
“I accept whatever it is you hand me,” Sabol informed the judge, per the AP. “I’ll be honest: I deserve it.”
More than 1,300 individuals have been charged with federal crimes related to the insurrection, according to the release. Of those charged, more than 800 have been sentenced.
