Capitol rioter with Confederate flag gets 5 months in jail

A Maryland man who shoved a police officer with a lacrosse stick attached to a Confederate battle flag during the U.S. Capitol riot has been sentenced to five months in prison.

A Justice Department spokesman says U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also sentenced 27-year-old David Alan Blair on Wednesday to 18 months of supervised release after his prison term.

Blair drove from his home in Clarksburg, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., after the riot erupted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Prosecutors say Blair encountered a line of police officers on the Capitol’s West Lawn and was arrested after he pushed his lacrosse stick against an officer’s chest.

The sentence comes as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks is holding public hearings. On Tuesday, Stephen Ayres, who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, testified he did so because former President Donald Trump convinced him the election was stolen.

“The president got everybody riled up, told everyone to head on down, so we basically were just following what he said,” Ayres stated.

The committee will hold its eighth hearing next week. They plan to give a detailed timeline of the events of Jan. 6.

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