According to NBC News, a federal judge sentenced a Maryland man to seven years in jail for his participation in the Capitol riot, which included charging at a police officer while carrying a wooden pallet and a concealed handgun.
Christopher Alberts receives a seven-year prison term
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper gave Christopher Alberts a seven-year prison term. In Albert’s case, the prosecution sought the court to deliver a clear message and had first demanded that he serve 10 years in prison for his assault on the Capitol, including charging at a police officer.
Reported by Daily Caller, police officers detained Alberts, a former member of the National Guard, at the Capitol on the evening of January 6, 2021. Alberts was convicted in April on nine crimes.
On the day of the disturbance, Alberts reportedly led demonstrators up the Capitol stairs, being the first person to climb a staircase landing and touch a U.S. flag. According to court filings, there was a Capitol Police officer on those stairs.
He charged up the stairs using the wooden pallet as a battering ram at the police officers protecting the stairway while carrying a concealed, fully-loaded pistol, wearing a gas mask, and metal-plated body armor, according to the prosecution. When police officer arrested him that evening, they found his gun, according to NBC News.
Prosecution: Alberts thinks that his acts have made him a hero
In a report from NBC 12, Alberts yelled at police officers for hours, often only a few feet from the Capitol Building, accusing these police officers of being domestic terrorists and treasonous communist motherfuckers who were improperly preventing the rioters from carrying out their duty. He yelled that he and the other rioters were there to carry out what is permitted by the constitution, i.e., to topple the United States government and impose a new government, according to the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, Alberts thinks that his acts have made him a hero and a protector. According to NBC, Alberts told the jury that he was at the Capitol to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election because he thought they were rigged.