Federal prosecutors have recommended an eight-month prison sentence for a Maryland man who pleaded guilty to shoving a police officer with a lacrosse stick attached to a Confederate battle flag during last year’s riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Blair pleaded guilty in March to a felony charge of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.
Blair’s attorney, Terrell Roberts III, asked the judge to impose a sentence of probation. Roberts said Blair thought he had the right to be where he was and to “exercise his First Amendment right of free assembly” before one of the advancing officers shoved him.Blair didn't enter the Capitol on Jan. 6. He told investigators that he went to the Capitol to “fight Antifa,” not to disrupt Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory, according to prosecutors.
“Blair further explained that as a result of these discussions he came to believe the United States was ‘falling apart’ and that he had to ‘stand up’ to communism,” Liebman added. Liebman said Blair likely knew that displaying the flag, widely viewed as a symbol of racist hate, would"antagonize any ideological opponent he might encounter."
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