The California man who stun gunned a police officer in the neck during the January 6 Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.
Daniel 'DJ' Rodriguez screamed 'Trump won!' as he was escorted out of the courtroom after US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months in jail.
Jackson said that Rodriguez, 40, was a 'one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property' at the US Capitol.
'You showed up in (Washington) DC spoiling for a fight,' Jackson said. 'You can't blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.'
Just two other Capitol riot defendants have been handed down longer prison terms after hundreds of sentencings pertaining to January 6 cases.
Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone was shown on footage from his own body camera screaming in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun as the officer was surrounded by a mob.
A different rioter had dragged the officer into the crowd on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace, where a line of policemen was guarding an entrance to the building.
Other rioters began beating Fanone, who ultimately lost consciousness and had a heart attack after Rodriguez pressed the stun gun against his neck and repeatedly zapped him.
Prior to sentencing, Fanone - who has written a book and participated in a number of interviews and Congressional hearings about January 6 - addressed the judge.
The now-retired law enforcement officer described how his experience at the Capitol prematurely ended his policing career and turned him into a target for the MAGA movement.
'I don't care about Daniel Rodriguez,' Fanone said, according to the Washington Post. 'I ceased thinking about him as a person a long time ago.' Fanone said he was focused on the leader who convinced Rodriguez and his friends that the 2020 election was stolen and must be taken back by force.
Fanone did not stay in the courtroom for the duration of Rodriguez's statement to the judge. The defendant has already been jailed for more than two years and will be given credit for time served.
'I'm hopeful that Michael Fanone will be OK some day. It sounds like he's in a great deal of pain,' said Rodriguez.
'Nothing he could have said to me today would have made any difference whatsoever,' Fanone later said.
Prosecutors had recommended a 14-year prison sentence for Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty in February to charges that included assaulting the officer.
They also sought a fine of close to $100,000 to offset the cost of Fanone's medical bills and medical leave.
'Rodriguez´s criminal conduct on January 6 was the epitome of disrespect for the law; he battled with law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol for hours, nearly costing one officer his life, in order to stop the official proceeding happening inside,' prosecutors wrote in a filing.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including conspiracy and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The plea was entered about two weeks prior to the start of his Washington, DC, trial.
According to prosecutors, at the January 6 riot, Rodriguez deployed a fire extinguisher at law enforcement officers and shoved a wooden pole at the line of police before another member of the crowd handed him what looked like a stun gun.
During an interview with FBI agents following his arrest, Rodriguez said he believed he was doing the 'right thing' on January 6 and had been prepared to die to 'save the country.'
He wept as he spoke to the agents, telling them he had been 'stupid' and was ashamed of his behavior.
'Mr. Rodriguez trusted Trump blindly and admired Trump so much that he referred to him as `dad´ in his social media chats leading up to Jan. 6th,' Rodriguez's defense attorneys explained.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes relating to the January 6 Capitol riot. More than 700 of them have been convicted or pleaded guilty, about 550 of them have been sentenced. Some have received terms as brief as seven days or as long as 18 years.