A New York man has been sentenced to over two years behind bars for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. James Weeks, 55, from Sodus, faced Judge Beryl A. Howell and received a 27-month prison term, followed by 36 months of supervised release, a mandate to pay $2,774.00 in restitution, and a $5,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
The sentencing follows Weeks' guilty plea to a single felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Court documents indicated that Weeks was caught on video forcefully entering the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. This spot bore witness to some of the most intense clashes between rioters and police on that fateful day. Weeks breached police lines and was heard shouting profanities and threats at the officers. "Shove it up your a—! You fat f—! I'm gonna shove that up your a—!" and "We're gonna f— you up!" were among the disruptive declarations he made, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Weeks' aggressive actions did not cease at the tunnel. He later moved to the Capitol's Northwest Courtyard, where he cheered on other rioters as they damaged property and contributed to the violence by banging a can of OC spray and hitting a window with a wooden stick, ultimately breaking it. Weeks was arrested on February 1 in Albany, New York.
