A Louisiana man has been sentenced for his part in the January 6 Capitol breach. New Orleans resident Colby Purkel, 27, was handed a sentence of 21 days in prison, alongside 12 months of supervised release and 100 hours of community service, on top of a $2,000 restitution fee, according to a Justice Department statement.

Purkel pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder in connection with events that unfolded on January 6, 2021, when a joint session of the U.S. Congress was disrupted by a mob. Court documents reveal Purkel, accompanied by his father and others, journeyed to Washington, D.C., and involved himself in efforts to forcefully enter the Capitol building through the East Rotunda doors. Arrested in November 2023, Purkel is now set to directly feel the legal repercussions of that day's chaos.

The court's decision was the culmination of an investigation led by the FBI's New Orleans and Washington Field Offices, with additional support from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. U.S. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg levied the sentence which also requires Purkel, post-incarceration, to significantly contribute back to the community he admitted to having disrupted.

Since the 2021 breach, over 1,470 individuals have faced charges across the nation, demonstrating the broad and ongoing impact of the events of that day. According to the prosecuting team from the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, more than 530 of those charged have been accused of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigations, now well into their third year, continue to actively unravel the full scope of that day's impact on both national and local scales.