Justice Department to seek longest sentence in any Jan. 6 riot case so far

The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the longest prison sentence in any January 6 riot case to date when it argues for more than 24 years in prison for Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania at sentencing on May 5. If imposed, the sentence would be more than twice as long as any handed down so far in the approximately 450 cases related to the January 6, 2021, assault that have reached sentencing.

In a sentencing memo submitted Monday, federal prosecutors argue Schwartz already had a lengthy criminal history when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, where he then unleashed a series of violent assaults against groups of officers. He was convicted at trial in December on several charges, including four counts of felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon.

In a request for a more lenient sentence, his defense argued Schwartz was the victim of political grifters and misinformation. A sentencing memo submitted on his behalf Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., said, "There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the 'great lie' that Trump won the election. Donald Trump being among the most prominent."