John Jefferson
Nicholas Ortt (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A Maryland man who boasted about fighting with cops guarding the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots is going to prison.
Nicholas Ortt, 43, was sentenced on Monday to 27 months — or 2 years and three months — in prison. He was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
Ortt pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting officers.
As Law&Crime reported, Ortt went to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, to attend former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a statement of facts that outlines the case.
After the rally, Ortt confronted cops. He was seen on police body camera footage struggling with vastly outnumbered police officers trying to hold the line. Ortt was the first rioter to push through against police shields at one location on the Capitol’s West Plaza, court documents said.
As he pushed through the police line, Ortt grabbed officers’ batons as they struggled to prevent other rioters behind Ortt from attacking.
Once Ortt breached the line, he continued to fight with officers as their cordon collapsed.
Police briefly pushed Ortt back, forcing him to retreat into the mob, which ultimately broke through the police line and flooded onto the Lower West Terrace.
At 4:07 p.m. that afternoon, Ortt went onto Facebook and posted a photo of himself with another rioter, holding a stolen police riot shield, celebrating.
“Never was prouder to be part of it,” and “Trust me I was there at the front lines,” he wrote.
After the riots, the FBI interviewed three people who knew Ortt — one of whom received a text from him with a photo showing him marching near the Capitol in his Trump hat.
He was arrested on March 8 in Ellicott City, Maryland, after the FBI identified him in photos in which he’s seen wearing a distinctive American flag gaiter and red “Trump” hat with an American flag brim, court documents said.
In the 44 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,500 people have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach, officials said. More than 562 people have been charged with assaulting officers.
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