Five years for Miami Proud Boy who assaulted multiple officers during Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (CN) — A Miami Proud Boy who assaulted six police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.

Justice Department prosecutors in their sentencing memorandum described Kenneth Bonawitz, 57, as “one of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters,” as he arrived armed with two knives, hurled himself off the inauguration stage at police officers and placed one in a chokehold, lifting her off the ground for several seconds.

Bonawitz, a former youth football coach, stands over 6 feet tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds.

Justice Department attorney Sean McCauley said he used his size as a weapon against officers as he ran and jumped into two officers, spread his arms out and caught them both in the neck, bringing them to the ground with serious injuries.

After dive-tackling the two officers, Bonawitz went on a 10-second rampage, assaulting four more officers, including the officer he placed in a chokehold. According to McCauley, the officer can be heard gasping for air for seconds in police body camera footage.

One officer injured by the dive-tackle, former U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Federico Ruiz, appeared in court Tuesday to urge U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb to punish Bonawitz accordingly.

Ruiz was forced into early retirement as a result of spine and neck injuries suffered from Bonawitz’s assault, ending a 20-year career with the USCP and a career of service that began in the military.

While in the military, Ruiz was in Washington during the Sept. 11 attacks, and was one of the first responders searching for survivors at the Pentagon that day.

“I put Bonawitz in the same category as the terrorists on 9/11 and in the same category as a traitor,” Ruiz said. “If I had my way, he’d be stripped of his citizenship; the same for the other rioters.”

As a result of Bonawitz’s attack, Ruiz said he must now live “a life sentence of pain” from his injuries.

When Bonawitz made his statement to the court, he apologized directly to Ruiz, begging his forgiveness.

“I’m disappointed and disgusted by my actions,” he said.

Cobb, a Joe Biden appointee, deviated slightly from the 71 months the Justice Department had requested for Bonawitz, giving him credit for quickly taking a plea deal in the case, saving the court time and officers the trauma of testifying.

Bonawitz pleaded guilty to three charges in June, one count of civil disorder and two counts of assaulting an officer.

But in a since-deleted October interview with the “Flip the Switch w/Jenn & Maria” podcast — a right-wing Rumble channel that peddles Jan. 6 conspiracy theories — Bonawitz mischaracterized his actions and tried to discredit the prosecution.

According to a transcript of the Oct. 3 interview, he claimed he came unarmed, never threw any punches and referred to his dive-tackle as a “little bit of a rugby match.”

Prior to sentencing, McCauley pointed to these statements as proof that Bonawitz was not remorseful, and was even proud, of his actions at the Capitol and thus should receive a sentence closer to 71 months.

Cobb took the interview as an indication that Bonawitz had not accepted responsibility for his actions, and expressed concern that he was trying to spread the conspiracy theory that Jan. 6 defendants were “political prisoners” who had only been arrested for their political views.

“If you say publicly that you didn’t do anything and it’s made up, it makes people think that the government is rounding people up and arresting them politically,” she said. “I make a point to say I don’t care about your politics, I care about your actions.”

In his statement before the court, Bonawitz said he did not realize he was doing anything wrong by participating in the interview.

He explained that other Jan. 6 defendants, many of whom are incarcerated in the same area of the Central Detention Facility, told him the interview was a way to raise money that he could use at the commissary, rather than rely on the money sent by his daughter.

In the three years since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, more than 1,265 defendants have been charged — 452 of them with assaulting an officer. Approximately 89 people have pleaded guilty to assaulting officers, and over 467 people have been sentenced to prison.

The investigation is ongoing, with 11 suspects wanted for assaulting law enforcement.

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