The trial of the latest participant in the January 6, 2020 riot on Capitol Hill came to a close yesterday. Michael Sparks, a resident of Kentucky, was sentenced to four years and five months in prison. This case merits particular attention because both the prosecutors and the judge were clearly trying to make an example of Sparks and deliver the harshest sentence within their power, despite there being virtually no evidence that his participation in the attack was any different from most of the other people who participated. Prosecutors described Sparks as a "catalyst" for the riot. His attorneys had asked the judge for a sentence of one year of home detention, but the judge opted to hand down a sentence only a few months shy of the maximum requested by the prosecution. (NY Post)

A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.

A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window.

Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.

Let's examine the details of Michael Sparks' participation as presented by the prosecution. They spent a great deal of time reviewing video footage of the riot and determined that Sparks was "the first person" to enter the Capitol Building. He entered through a broken window, whereupon he was immediately shot in the face with pepper spray by a Capitol Hill Police Officer. His entry, according to prosecutors, gave a "green light" to the rest of the mob to move in.

The only facet of the prosecution's description that is wholly accurate is that Sparks was technically the first person to enter the building. But he wasn't first by very much at all. As the defense repeatedly pointed out, rioters breached the building in eight different locations and people were already scrambling to get inside while Sparks managed to beat them in what was close to a photo finish. Nobody was waiting for a "green light" from Michael Sparks.

And how about that broken window that he used to gain access to the building? Damaging government property is correctly considered an amplifying factor in these cases, perhaps meriting a stiffer sentence. But the same video the prosecution relied upon clearly shows that Sparks didn't break the window. Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys broke the window using a police riot shield he had picked up at the scene. Sparks "hopped" through the window after it was already broken.

Did Michael Sparks attack the Capitol Hill Police? That would be a serious charge, if true. But in reality, Sparks was one of many people (who mostly came in through the aforementioned other seven breaches) who "chased" Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman as he retreated up the stairs once they were inside. At the top of the stairs, Goodman joined a group of other officers who forced the pursuing rioters to back down. That is clearly inappropriate behavior when engaging with law enforcement, but Sparks made no physical assault on any of them.

In all, Sparks was inside the building for just ten minutes before returning to the plaza outside. And yet he was given very close to the maximum possible sentence for a nonviolent offense where he caused no injuries and did not engage in any property damage. And yet he received a sentence more than three times as long as those given to two New York lawyers who created and distributed explosives and literally firebombed a police cruiser during the BLM riots.  They set out to make an example of Michael Sparks as a message to others. That is not equal justice under the law. What Sparks actually did amounted to little more than trespassing. This is disgraceful.