Capitol Rioter Gets 33 Months in Jail for Hitting Police With Wooden Plank

Jacob Travis Clark was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, a felony offense, and five misdemeanor offenses.

Supporters of President Donald Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

A man who allegedly struck a police officer with a wooden 2x4 plank during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was sentenced Friday to two years and nine months in prison, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Jacob Travis Clark, a 34-year-old resident of Colorado Springs, was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, a felony offense, and five misdemeanor offenses in relation to his actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Clark was handed a 33-month prison sentence and 12 months of supervised release. His criminal conduct was captured in his text messages and surveillance videos in the Capitol building, the DOJ stated.

According to court documents, Mr. Clark drove from his home in Colorado to Washington, on Jan. 5, 2021, and attended President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse. He sent a text to his father that read: “It’s a Trump thing I’m here for the riots when they say he isn’t the winner, lol.”

Mr. Clark was among the first to enter the U.S. Capitol building during the riot. He was seen on video surveillance walking down the hallway holding a 2x4 wooden plank before hitting a police officer with it, forcing the officer to retreat in visible pain.

“Clark later joined a crowd of rioters, pointed at police, and threatened them. The mob forced the police to retreat, and Clark proceeded deeper into the building,” the DOJ stated in its press release.

Mr. Clark spent nearly 40 minutes in the Capitol building before leaving. He continued to brag about “his unlawful escapade” through text messages, even sending pictures and saying: “We took the whole thing. They had to evacuate,” the DOJ stated.

Mr. Clark later wrote of his actions on Jan. 6 to a friend, stating, “We do it every day they try to vote.” He was eventually arrested by the FBI on Apr. 21, 2021, in Colorado Springs.

Oregon Man Sentenced to Over 3 Years in Prison

In a separate case, a 43-year-old man from Oregon was sentenced to 41 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for assaulting law enforcement and climbing on presidential statues.

Richard L. Harris was convicted of five felonies and six misdemeanor offenses.

According to court documents, Mr. Harris climbed on at least five different statues, including a statue of President Gerald R. Ford in which he placed his own blue camouflage “MAGA” hat on the statue’s head.

Mr. Harris was also accused of threatening former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Mike Pence, and a journalist while inside the Capitol building.

More than 1,100 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing, according to the DOJ.