CT Man Sentenced To Prison In Jan. 6 Breach Of U.S. Capitol: Feds

CONNECTICUT — A 38-year-old Wolcott man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison last week after previously pleading guilty to assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.

Richard Markey was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta; in addition to the prison term, Markey was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors said that Markey previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He was arrested on July 17, 2023.

From the announcement:

According to court documents, on Jan. 5, 2021, Markey traveled from his home in Connecticut to Washington, D.C., and on the following day, made his way toward the U.S. Capitol building along with thousands of other rioters. Markey eventually made his way to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th.

At about 3:54 p.m., court documents say that Markey emerged from the riotous mob and proceeded to climb on top of other rioters in order to make his way toward the police line defending the Tunnel. From his elevated vantage point, Markey began forcibly assaulting police officers in the Tunnel. Markey assaulted police with a baton and later his fists. In one instance, Markey forcibly struck and pulled on a police shield held by two officers.

Markey then balanced himself atop the mob of rioters, grabbed the police shield again, and proceeded to kick the shield several times with considerable force. Another police officer sought to deter Markey from assaulting police using a pole; however, Markey pulled the pole from the officer's grasp, pointed it at the officer, and screamed, "Oathbreaker! Oathbreaker! You're not doing your f— job. Listen! I fought for this f— country."

Markey then used the pole that he wrestled away from the police to continue striking the shield held by the two police officers. Court documents say that Markey assaulted the officers with the pole by striking them with it seven distinct times and did so with such force that on the seventh strike, the pole broke.

Markey struck the shield held by the two officers one final time before discarding the remaining piece. Markey continued to assault police, yelling at them, striking and pushing their shield with his hands, and later turning the shield parallel to the ground to render it ineffective.

Also sentenced last week was Knoxville, TN resident Michael Tyler Roberts, 34, who received a 15-month prison sentence, with 36 months of supervised release, and a $2,000 order to pay restitution.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Districts of Connecticut and Eastern Tennessee provided valuable assistance.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington, New Haven, and Knoxville Field Offices, which identified Markey as BOLO (“Be On the Look Out”) 265-AFO (Assault on a Federal Officer) on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 47 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,572 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.