WASHINGTON (CN) — A man who used a stolen police baton to attack a fallen officer on the steps of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to 57 months in prison by a federal judge on Friday.
As he passed down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras emphasized the severity of Mason Courson's criminal acticity, saying he was “part of the most violent clashes” to occur that day.
“One who does not hesitate to attack a police officer will not hesitate to attack a member of the public,” the Obama-appointed Contreras said on Friday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney played videos from the riot in which Courson is seen at the forefront of the crowd trying to break through a line of police officers to breach the Capitol, using a “heave-ho” tactic to use their mass to push officers back. At one point, Courson can be seen grabbing at officers’ equipment, eventually taking hold of a police baton and taking it back with him.
Additional video evidence showed that after police were able to push the rioters back, one of Courson’s co-defendants, Logan Barnhart, was able to grab an officer and pull him head-first into the crowd. Kearney described Barnhart’s action as “throwing the officer to the wolves” during the prosecution that led to his 36-month prison sentence.
“This defendant," she said, "was one of the wolves” who pounced on the Metropolitan Police officer. Kearney played segments of the body-camera footage from another officer that shows Courson hitting the man on the ground with the police baton at least once, any additional strikes were not clear in the video.
Courson, who traveled from southern Florida to participate in the insurrection, was one of multiple rioters seen beating the officer while he lay on the steps of the Capitol, others using makeshift weapons like flag poles and riot shields. According to the sentencing memo filed by the prosecution, the officer, referred to only by his initials B.M., received injuries such as bruises, “black and blue … consistent with being hit by a metal pipe.”
Nicholas Smith, Courson’s defense attorney and a partner with David B. Smith, tried to draw a distinction between the sentences the government was pursuing against his client and those his co-defendants and other Jan. 6 defendants have receive to date.
“I find it most extraordinary that the government is asking for a sentence three times higher than Barnhart,” Smith said, arguing that the evidence showed Courson had only struck the officer once, while Barnhart and other members of the group assault swung multiple times. Prior to sentencing, the Justice Department was seeking a sentence of 87 months, over seven years in prison.
Contreras did not accept this distinction, specifically pointing out that Courson had used a lethal weapon and the fact he had a prior criminal record with three prior convictions, including one instance in which he resisted arrest, kicking and punching officers and a nurse.
“I agree with the government that using a flagpole and a baton are two very different things,” Contreras said.
Courson, who has been in federal detention since December 2021, expressed regret for his actions and apologized to law enforcement, elected officials and congressional aides who were injured and traumatized by his and others’ actions that day.
“I apologize for being involved in the treachery of that day,” Courson testified in court. “I am regretful for allowing my emotions, the provocateurs and the instigators around me influence my actions that day.”
Prior to his final ruling, Contreras asked Courson how he squared his apology on Friday with his previous statements to FBI investigators that police were traitors.
“I did not ever consider them as traitors,” Courson said.
Before dismissing the court, the judge explained how he also grew up in southern Florida near Miami, and how, like Courson, he came from Cuban immigrants.
“In my day, there was nothing more sacrosanct than respect for law enforcement. … I hope this was just an extreme departure from that,” Contreras said.
In the 29 months since the Capitol riot, the Justice Department has charged over 1,000 people for their actions on Jan. 6, and sentenced approximately 524 people. The investigation is still ongoing, with approximately 269 people who assaulted police officers still unidentified.
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