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WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired New Jersey State Police trooper who stormed the U.S. Capitol with a mob of Donald Trump supporters was sentenced to probation instead of prison on Friday, as the federal courts reached a milestone in the punishment of Capitol rioters.
Videos captured Michael Daniele, 61, yelling and flashing a middle finger near police officers guarding the Capitol before he entered the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Daniele expressed his regret for his role in the attack before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced him to two years of probation, including 30 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine. Prosecutors had recommended an 11-month prison sentence for Daniele.
“My family has been through hell,” Daniele said before learning his sentence. “I would never do anything like this again.”
The number of sentencings for Capitol riot cases topped the 1,000 mark on Friday, according to an Associated Press review of court records that began more than three years ago.
More than 1,500 people have been charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes. At least 647 of them have been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years. Over 200 have been sentenced to some form of home confinement.
In June, Mehta convicted Daniele of misdemeanor charges after a trial without a jury. But the judge acquitted him of two felony counts of interfering with police during a civil disorder.
Daniele served as a New Jersey State Police trooper for 26 years.
“It cannot be possible that you thought it was OK to be inside the United States Capitol on January 6th,” the judge said.
Daniele wasn't accused of physically assaulting any police officers or causing any damage at the Capitol that day.
“You're not criminally responsible for that, but you do bear some moral obligation for it,” the judge said.
A prosecutor said Daniele "should have known better" given his law-enforcement training and experience.
“By being there, he lent his strength to a violent mob,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Jackson said.
Daniele traveled from Holmdel, New Jersey, to Washington to attend then-President Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6, when Congress convened a joint session to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Before Trump finished speaking, Daniele marched to the Capitol and joined hundreds of other rioters at the Peace Circle, where the mob breached barricades and forced police to retreat. Daniele entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing doors and walked through the Crypt. He spent roughly six minutes inside the building.
When the FBI interviewed him, Daniele referred to the Jan. 6 attack as a "set up” and suggested that other rioters “looked like cops,” according to prosecutors.
“He also blamed the violence of January 6 on the police — despite serving decades with law enforcement himself — accusing the police officers facing an unprecedented attack by a crowd of thousands of not following proper riot control practices,” prosecutors wrote.
Defense attorney Stuart Kaplan said incarcerating Daniele would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“He made poor choices and a bad decision,” the lawyer said. “I think he's got more credits than debits.”