Florida man sentenced to 5 years in prison for assaulting officers in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A Florida man was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday for assaulting at least six officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, including one U.S. Capitol Police officer who was so severely injured that he was forced to retire, the Justice Department said.

Described as "one of the more violent" rioters, the Justice Department said Kenneth Bonawitz was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines. Bonawitz, 58, of Pompano Beach, Florida, was arrested last January and pleaded guilty in August to three felony charges: civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.

Federal prosecutors said Bonawitz, a member of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group’s Miami chapter, came to the Capitol "prepared for violence" and stormed the building with a mob of Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. Bonawitz's attacks included throwing himself at officers and tackling them to the ground in addition to placing one officer in a chokehold and lifting the officer up by the neck, according to court documents.

"His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election," the Justice Department said in a news release.

In the three years since the attacks, federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,000 people for participating. A bipartisan House select committee, which investigated the attack, also recommended that the Justice Department charge Trump with insurrection, obstruction and conspiracy, among other potential charges. The former president was indicted in last August on two felony charges related to the attack on the Capitol.

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What did Kenneth Bonawitz do on Jan. 6, 2021?

Bonawitz took on an overnight bus from Florida to Washington, D.C., which was chartered for Trump supporters to attend his “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6, according to court documents.

After the rally, Bonawitz — armed with an eight-inch hunting knife in a sheath attached to his belt — was among the first of the rioters to enter the Upper West Plaza by pushing through a police defensive line. Bonawitz then mounted a stage built for President Joe Biden’s inauguration and jumped off, tackling two Capitol police officers.

One of the officers was Sgt. Federico Ruiz, who suffered serious injuries to his neck, shoulder, knees and back. “I thought there was a strong chance I could die right there,” Ruiz wrote in a November 2023 letter addressed to U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb.

"Bonawitz has given me a life sentence of physical pain and discomfort, bodily injury and emotional insecurity as a direct result of his assault on me," Ruiz, who retired last month, added in the letter.

Following these assaults, officers confiscated Bonawitz's knife and released him back into the crowd. But within about seven seconds, prosecutors said Bonawitz assaulted four more officers.

Bonawitz exited Capitol grounds after being sprayed with a chemical agent and gave two brief interviews to media outlets, including one where he stated, “I was up on the stage breaking through the lines. D.C. police maced me, hit me over the head with batons, and was kicking me in the side of the face," prosecutors said.

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Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol attack, according to the Justice Department. Those individuals include over 440 who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

About 900 have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials, and over 750 have been sentenced — with nearly 500 receiving a term of imprisonment, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

The attack also led to several deaths and hundreds of injuries, and it temporarily halted Congress' certification of Biden’s Electoral College win. More than 100 police officers were injured during the siege and five people were left dead.

Contributing: Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY; The Associated Press