A Maine man was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday for assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, prosecutors said.
Matthew Brackley, 40, of Waldoboro, received his sentence during a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., according to the office of US Attorney Matthew M. Graves.
Brackley was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and restitution. He pleaded guilty in January to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, prosecutors said.
“Mr. Brackley accepts full responsibility for his actions on that day,” his lawyer, Steven Hale Levin, said in a statement after the guilty plea. “This aberrant behavior is contrary to Mr. Brackley’s otherwise law-abiding history and respectful nature.”
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Federal authorities have said that Brackley entered the US Capitol via the Senate wing doors at about 2:23 p.m., some 10 minutes after they were first breached. Brackley made his way to the crypt area of the building, where a group of rioters had assembled and were pushing against police lines, prosecutors said.
The rioters pushed past police and advanced farther into the building, prosecutors said.
Police told Brackley and the others to “back up,” but Brackley did not comply and instead asked the officers where then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was, prosecutors said. Brackley turned to the crowd, shouted, “Let’s go,” and leaned forward, using both arms to push through the officers, prosecutors said.
Brackley led the crowd toward the Senate chamber and was again halted by police, who used chemical spray that caused Brackley and other rioters to retreat, prosecutors said. Brackley left the Capitol building at about 3:05 p.m.
He was arrested in July.
More than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol, which unfolded after then-President Donald Trump gave a fiery speech to his supporters urging them to “fight like hell” before they marched to the Capitol and forced Congress to evacuate for several hours, delaying the certification of Joe Biden’s November 2020 election victory.
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Matthew Brackley, of Waldoboro, Maine, was sentenced to 15 months in prison today after admitting to assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on 1/6/21, following an #FBI Boston investigation. https://t.co/wcnXvQBcbv
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) May 14, 2024
Material from prior Globe stories and from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.