Capitol rioter who boasted about attacking ‘rookie cop’ jailed for 14 months

Sargent joins more than 280 individuals convicted for assualting or impeding police officers during the Capitol riot

Capitol rioter Troy Sargent was sentenced to 14 months in prison for assaulting a police officer during the Capitol riot (US Justice Department handout)

A man who admitted to attacking a "rookie cop" during the Capitol riot has been sentenced to 14 months in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Troy Sargent, 38, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 14 months in prison by a District of Columbia court on Monday.

He was convicted on felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers during the attack on the Capitol, as well as civil disorder and four related misdemeanours, according to the Justice Department.

Sargent pleaded guilty to the charges on 27 June 2022.

Sargent’s attorney asked for him to be given six months followed by two years of supervised release, according to court documents.

“Troy Sargent has clearly acknowledged the harm he caused, both to the Court and to his family," his lawyer said in a sentencing memo. “He has truly accepted responsibility by making significant changes in his behavior."

Federal prosecutors had asked for a 27-month sentence.

According to court documents, Sargent was among the rioters who attempted to disrupt Congress on 6 January 2021. Around 2.30pm that day, he reportedly stepped out of a crowd of protesters and slapped a US Capitol Police Officer.

Immediately after, another officer told him "do not start attacking people."

Approximately 30 seconds later, Sargent tried to slap the officer again, but that time hit someone else in the crowd.

He admitted to the attack in a social media post after the incident.

"I got two hits in on the same rookie cop…" he said in a message to someone on social media.

Police took Sargent into custody on 9 March 2021, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In addition to his prison sentence Sargent was also ordered to complete two years of supervised release and to pay $500 in restitution and $285 special assessment.

Sargent joins the approximately 900 individuals who have been arrested from nearly all 50 US states for crimes relating to the Capitol riot. More than 280 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement by the Justice Department thus far, and the investigation remains active.