In Washington, On January 6, 2021, a man from Tennessee admitted to pulling Washington, D.C. police officer Michael Fanone into a hostile crowd outside the U.S. Capitol. He was given a 90-month prison sentence on Thursday.
Albuquerque Head, a 43-year-old father and construction worker, admitted to attacking the officer and taking part in one of the most tumultuous incidents of the Capitol riot in a guilty plea in May.
After hearing former President Donald Trump’s address on the White House Ellipse that day, prosecutors said — and Head later acknowledged — that he went to the Capitol and forced his way over barriers to the front of a mob that had gathered in the lower West Terrace tunnel.
“Mr. Head went to the Capitol with the rest of the rally goers when Trump mentioned doing so. Mr. Head easily acknowledges that this was yet another stupid choice “In a filing made before Thursday’s sentencing hearing, his lawyers argued for a 60-month prison sentence.
The government declared Head made the conscious decision to take a riot shield to use against an outnumbered line of law enforcement officials before pushing up to the front of the throng while sporting a camouflage “Trump 2020” hat. Head turned to Fanone as the police eventually expelled the rioters from the tunnel, the scene of several of the most severe assaults on police officers.
Prosecutors said in their own pre-sentencing memorandum that Head “wrapped his arm around Officer Fanone’s neck and uttered a horrific shout to his fellow rioters—”I’ve got one,”” bringing the officer into the mob and subjecting him to further more severe assaults. Danny Rodriguez, another suspected rioter, is accused of tasering Fanone in the base of the skull after Head drew him into the throng.
Fanone was screamed at by the mob until they let him go, shouting “murder him” and “grab his pistol.”
Fanone argued that Head should be given the harshest punishment possible for his crimes during his testimony at the court on Thursday, claiming that Head’s acts left him hurt and terrified.
Fanone pleaded with Judge Amy Berman Jackson, “Your Honor, I would ask you to grant Mr. Head the same mercy he showed me on Jan. 6.”
Head was initially detained in April 2021, just months after the Capitol attack, and prosecutors sought the judge to condemn him to 96 months in prison.
Jackson’s decision took into account Head’s successful battle with addiction as well as his responsibilities as a father and caregiver. On Thursday, Head remained silent, but according to his counsel, Head was “embarrassed and apologetic.”
Jackson criticized Head for participating in “some of the darkest deeds done” in the annals of our country. She claimed that Head’s “hand-to-hand combat” contributed to the terrible two-hour “medieval battle” that took place outside the Capitol.
“You had him for prey. He was your prize, the judge remarked of Fanone on Thursday, later pointing out the irony of witnessing a “Blue Lives Matter” protest “On January 6, when the cop was being attacked, a flag flew above the crowd. Jackson reprimanded him, saying that the crowd “didn’t think blue lives mattered anything at all.”
The judge also issued a warning to those who continue to promote the idea that the 2020 election was “stolen,” stating that they must accept responsibility for the pandemonium that day as a result of their false assertions.
Head will serve 90 months in prison with time already served, according to Jackson’s decision.
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