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An Iowa man who brought his teenage son to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, admitted to being among the group that attacked District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury while defending Congress from pro -Trump mafia.
Kyle Young, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday in the District of Columbia to one count of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to eight years in prison; prosecutors say the guidelines require at least five.
Three others are accused of assaulting Fanone. According to court documents, Albuquerque Head of Tennessee is to plead guilty on Friday. Daniel Rodriguez, a conservative activist from Southern California, apologized through tears for using an electric shock to Fanone during an FBI interrogation, but has since pleaded not guilty. Thomas Sibick, 35, of Buffalo, is accused of stealing Fanone’s badge and radio; he also pleaded not guilty.
Young knows nothing about the activities of the others, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Young brought his 16-year-old son to Redfield, Iowa, for the Stop Theft rally, according to a transcript of his bond hearing. Shortly before 3 p.m., they headed to the lower west terrace of the Capitol, where DC police were trying to keep the violent mob out of a tunnel under the Rotunda.
Under his plea agreement, Young lit a strobe in the officers’ eyes and struck them with a long stick. He helped throw a large audio speaker at police; hit another protester. Then, as the rebels dragged Fanone by the helmet across the police line and into the crowd, Young followed.
Fanone, in interviews and testimony before Congress, describes what happened next. His radio, badge, and bullet cartridge were confiscated. He was beaten with fists and a flagpole and shocked again and again in the back of the neck with a taser. Someone tried to pull his service weapon out of its holster, shouting, “Kill him with his own gun!” When he begged for mercy, shouting, “I have children!” He was later hospitalized.
According to court documents, Fanone told investigators that he was “100 percent sure” that Young was the one who grabbed his gun and threatened to kill him with it. In his indictment, Young was accused of trying to steal Fanone’s service weapon. As part of the plea agreement, the charge was dropped and Assistant Attorney General Kara Gardner said it would not be discussed in the sentencing. Young only agreed that he had been seen on camera holding Fanone by the arm and wrist.
Young “withdrew the policeman’s hand from his body,” according to the statement of facts submitted as part of the plea. Fanone “felt excruciating pain and was instantly helpless.”
Young also admitted to attacking another officer after Fanone, contacting his helmet.
Young, who works in the heating and air conditioning system, has a criminal history that includes charges of drugs and firearms.
At a detention hearing last year, his wife said her husband was a Trump supporter and Fox News observer who went to the District of Columbia because “they have to prove to us that this election was free and fair.” His sentence is scheduled for August 28.
Fanone, who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, has become an outspoken critic of Republicans who sought to minimize the horror of the Capitol attack. He resigned from the Sofia Police Department in December, saying he was disappointed with his colleagues, who want him to remain silent.
“Obviously there are some members of our department who think their oath is to Donald Trump, not the Constitution,” he told The Washington Post at the time.
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