Florida man gets prison term for role in attack on Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man has been sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison for attacking police officers during the insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Christian Matthew Manley, 27, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in the District of Columbia, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to assaulting, resisting and impeding law enforcement while using a dangerous weapon.

According to court documents, Manley joined with others in objecting to Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying election results for Biden over Trump, a Republican, authorities have said. Five people died in the violence.

According to the criminal complaint, Manley was captured on video outside the Capitol wearing a flak jacket and armed with bear spray, a collapsible police baton and handcuffs. Video shows Manley spraying bear spray at U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers as they defended an entrance from rioters.

Manley threw the empty bear spray container at officers, then sprayed a second cannister at officers before throwing it at them, prosecutors said. A short time later, Manley accepted a metal rod from another rioter and threw it at the officers, investigators said. They added that Manley also wedged his body against a wall in a tunnel and used force to push the security door against officers defending the Capitol.

Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for alleged crimes related to the Capitol breach, officials said. More than 320 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.