A Virginia man, Antonio Lamotta, was sentenced to a half-year stint in prison for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot, according to an announcement by the Department of Justice. After a March 2024 trial, the 64-year-old from Chesapeake was found guilty on a felony charge of civil disorder and two additional misdemeanors. U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb of the District of Columbia presided over the case, rendering Lamotta's sentence, which also includes 24 months of supervised release and an order to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Moreover, court documents reveal that Lamotta had encouraged others to join the fray, making the journey from Virginia to D.C. two days prior and using social media to urge fellow "patriots" to swiftly converge on the site, as reported by the Department of Justice. On the day of the attack, Lamotta mixed with a mob that, against the noise of alarms and the desperate efforts of Capitol Police to keep them at bay, managed to forcefully enter the Capitol through the East Rotunda Doors. Once inside, Lamotta notably waved to direct the rioters forward, as officers fought to restore order, a moment captured and subsequently used as evidence against him.
The situation escalated when law enforcement attempted to push the invaders out, with some individuals violently resisting. Lamotta was noted for trying to hold his ground amid the chaos. Ultimately, he was expelled through the same doors he had illegally entered, lingering on the Capitol grounds until late afternoon. The FBI eventually arrested him on August 16, 2022, more than a year and a half after the insurrection.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with crucial support from the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Investigations conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office have, to date, resulted in charges against over 1,504 individuals involved in the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 560 charged with felonies for assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The scope of these investigations and the commitment to hold each participant accountable reflect the seriousness with which the federal government seeks to uphold the rule of law in this ongoing challenge.
