A member of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys from Florida. identified as Kenneth Bonawitz, was put behind bars for five years yesterday after assaulting at least half a dozen officers during the Capitol riot. Alongside prison time, Bonawitz, 58, is mandated to undergo three years of supervised release and cough up $2,000 in restitution and fines, as per the CBS News Miami report.
Poised for violence, the Pompano Beach native joined the mob of Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021. There, he throttled police officers, one into forced retirement due to sustained injuries, according to statements obtained by USA Today. The Justice Department, citing the severity, recommended a sentence of five years and 11 months for the man, but U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb decided five years suffice.
Bonawitz's charges included three felonies: civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assault on law enforcement during a civil disorder. He had initially taken an overnight bus to attend Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally, ultimately leading to his engagement in the Capitol siege, as described in the Justice Department's news release.
The injuries Bonawitz caused were severe. One Capitol police officer, Sgt. Federico Ruiz, said in a letter to the court, "Bonawitz has given me a life sentence of physical pain and discomfort, bodily injury and emotional insecurity as a direct result of his assault on me." Despite confiscating an eight-inch knife from his possession, moved by righteousness, Bonawitz proceeded to assault four more officers.
Bonawitz wasn't accused of collaborating with other Proud Boys members, but evidence pointed to him having "fully embraced and embodied their anti-government, extremist ideology," the prosecutor penned. As the legal process continues to address the aftermath of January 6th, the Justice Department has charged over 1,200 defendants, with approximately 900 pleading guilty or convicted after trials. Amongst these, nearly 500 have received prison sentences.
