Jan. 6 rioter who flipped officer over ledge gets more than 6 years in prison

A rioter who flipped a law enforcement officer over a ledge during the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol was sentenced to more than six years in prison Tuesday, according to multiple reports. 

New York resident Ralph Celentano, 56, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. District Judge Timothy Kelly said Celentano’s actions Jan. 6 were “disgraceful” and the attack on the officer was “a truly cowardly and despicable thing to do,” NBC News reported.

Celentano was arrested in 2022 in connection to his role in the Capitol riots and was found guilty last year of multiple misdemeanor and felony charges, including assaulting law enforcement officers. According to the prosecutors, Celentano made his way to the front of the rioters gathered at the Lower West Terrace, where he engaged in several altercations with law enforcement officers during the Capitol riot.

According to court documents, Celentano and other rioters successfully breached the police line. He then spotted a Capitol Police officer with his back turned near a raised platform, and hit the officer in a “football style tackle,” according to the documents. The documents said the officer then flipped over the ledge and fell onto the officers below him. 

The government had asked for Celentano to be sentenced to 135 months in prison, three years supervised release, a $2,000 restitution and a $300 special assessment, according to a sentencing memorandum last year. 

“Celentano’s conduct on January 6, 2021 demonstrates a violent character and disrespect for law enforcement, which weighs in favor of a lengthy term of incarceration,” the sentencing memo states.