Jan. 6 rioter sentenced to 86 months for assaulting DC officer Fanone

A federal judge sentenced an Iowa man to 86 months in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Kyle Young, 38, pleaded guilty in May to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers after prosecutors said he supplied another rioter with a taser he then used against Fanone. 

Prosecutors added that Young threw a large speaker toward police, jabbed a pole at officers and pointed a strobe light at them.

Fanone gained national attention after testifying publicly before the House Jan. 6 committee last summer, when he described the incident and railed against former President Trump and other elected officials who he said downplayed the riot’s severity.

Fanone, who suffered a heart attack as a result of his Jan. 6 injuries, now works for CNN and wrote an op-ed for the outlet published earlier on Tuesday saying he would attend Young’s sentencing in person.

“What do I think Young deserves?” Fanone wrote. “Not less than 10 years in prison. And an assigned cell in maximum security with his co-conspirator: Donald Trump.”

The judge’s sentence mirrors prosecutors’ recommendation while bucking Young’s attorney, who requested Young be sentenced to no more than 24 months of imprisonment.

“Shortly after the incident, Mr. Young saw his information on an FBI list associated with the protest,” Young’s attorney wrote in the sentencing request. “He immediately turned himself in. He has been fully cooperative in subsequent investigations and maintained remorse through court proceedings. Mr. Young regrets his actions and wants to take responsibility.”

Young — who brought his son to the riot and spent some of his time at the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where some of the most violent images from Jan. 6 emerged — is the first of four defendants charged with assaulting Fanone to be sentenced.

Court proceedings for Daniel Rodriguez, who Young handed the taser ultimately used against Fanone, as well as Albuquerque Head and Thomas Sibick, are still ongoing.

Fanone in the op-ed said he “can’t wait” to testify at the trial for Rodriguez, who pleaded not guilty after apologizing to the FBI about the incident.

As the Justice Department continues pushing its cases against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, the House panel investigating the incident is beginning to wrap up its work.

The committee was slated to hold a public hearing on Wednesday but postponed it as Florida braces for the impacts of Hurricane Ian.