First Jan. 6 Protester to Enter US Capitol Is Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison

The 47-year-old Kentucky man was sentenced to 53 months in prison and a $2,000 fine.

Michael Sparks, the first demonstrator to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leaves federal court in Washington on Aug. 27, 2024. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

A Kentucky man who was the first known person to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Michael Sparks, 47, was convicted in March by a federal jury in the District of Columbia on all six charges that he faced, including two felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.