![Christopher Joseph Quaglin: New Jersey man insults judge who sentenced him to 12 years for attacking police during Capitol riot | Keynote USA Christopher Joseph Quaglin: New Jersey man insults judge who sentenced him to 12 years for attacking police during Capitol riot | Keynote USA](https://i0.wp.com/local.keynoteusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/14871464_quaglin-jan-6-riot-AP.jpg?resize=1170%2C658&ssl=1)
NEW JERSEY – A New Jersey electrician who repeatedly attacked police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison by a judge who called him “a threat to our society”.
Christopher Joseph Quaglin argued and insulted U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden before and after the judge handed him one of the longest prison sentences among hundreds of Capitol riot cases.
“You are Trump’s worst mistake in 2016,” Quaglin told McFadden, who was nominated to the court by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.
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Christopher Quaglin, appears in police body camera footage at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington. (Department of Justice via Keynote USA)
Quaglin, 38, joined the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol. He injured a police officer by choking him and knocked him to the ground. Quaglin attacked other officers with stolen police shields, metal bicycle racks and pepper spray. He clashed with police for approximately three hours while wearing a “Make America Great Again” American flag-themed sweatshirt.
“What atrocity. What shame,” said the judge.
Quaglin complained about his jail conditions and promoted conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 siege during his rambling courtroom remarks. He also took issue with labeling the Jan. 6 attack an insurrection.
“If I wanted to provoke an insurrection, I would have brought a long gun,” he said.
READ | January 6 rioter who led crowd that attacked police sentenced to more than 7 years in prison
The judge, who cut him off after several minutes, told Quaglin that his combative comments were “a really bad idea” before handing down the sentence.
“It’s a kangaroo court,” Quaglin responded.
Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence Quaglin to 14 years in prison. They said he was one of the most violent rioters on Jan. 6, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
The judge convicted Quaglin of six separate assaults on police. Prosecutors say he punched or shoved a dozen other officers.
“Quaglin understood the constitutional significance of January 6 and intended to disrupt Congressional certification of the 2020 election by any means necessary, including by brutally assaulting police officers for hours,” prosecutors wrote.
About 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Nearly 900 of them have been sentenced, and about two-thirds received prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years. Only seven Capitol riot defendants have received a longer prison sentence than Quaglin, according to an Keynote USA review of court records.
Christopher Quaglin, appears in police body camera footage at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington. (Department of Justice via Keynote USA)
McFadden convicted Quaglin on 14 counts last July after a “stipulated trial,” meaning the judge decided the case without a jury and based on facts both sides agreed to before the trial. Such trials allow defendants to maintain appeal rights that they give up by pleading guilty.
Quaglin traveled from his home in North Brunswick, New Jersey, to attend then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on January 6. Leaving the rally early, Quaglin recorded a video of himself marching toward the Capitol wearing a helmet, gas mask, and backpack.
After storming the barricades near Peace Circle, Quaglin repeatedly attacked officers trying to keep the mob at bay. Capitol Police Sgt. Troy Robinson was injured when Quaglin grabbed him by the neck and tackled him to the ground.
“Quaglin’s attack sparked a brief fight,” prosecutors wrote. “With Quaglin on top of Sergeant Robinson, other rioters came to Quaglin’s aid and chaos broke out.”
SEE ALSO | House Speaker Says Jan. 6 Footage Should Be Blurred to Protect Rioters, Then He Backtracks
Quaglin “waged a relentless siege” as he joined other rioters in attacking police in a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, prosecutors said. He helped another rioter steal a shield from an officer. He pepper sprayed several officers in the faces. And he joined the collective mafia movement against a police line.
“Quaglin was part of some of the most gruesome attacks in the tunnel while working with other rioters to ensure officers were under constant attack,” prosecutors wrote.
Quaglin later celebrated and boasted about his participation in the mutiny.
“It was a great moment. I got bumps and bruises. And we’re having a good time,” he said in a video posted on social media.
Defense attorney Kristi Fulnecky claims Quaglin received inadequate medical treatment while incarcerated for the past three years. Fulnecky also said that one of Quaglin’s former attorneys forced him to accept a stipulated trial rather than a contested trial.
McFadden told Quaglin that his actions on January 6 were “shocking and lawless.”
“January 6 is not simply an anomaly for you,” the judge said. “You’ve allowed it to define you.”
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