Jan. 6 rioter receives longest sentence yet for using pepper spray, chair to attack police

A man who stormed the Capitol and attacked police with pepper spray and a chair during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison on Friday, the longest sentence yet.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Peter Schwartz, who is from Kentucky, to 14 years and two months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on Friday. The sentence surpasses the previous record — 10 years — that retired New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster received in September. 

The Justice Department had sought a 24 year sentence for Schwartz, who was convicted in December of assault and other felony charges. Prosecutors indicated that Schwartz has an extensive criminal history of 38 prior convictions since 1991, several that involved assaulting or threatening officers or others in authority. 

Schwartz and his wife at the time, Shelly Stallings, joined other rioters at the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace where he threw a folding chair at officers. 

Prosecutor Jocelyn Bond said in a court filing that Schwartz “directly contributed” to the police line falling and the rioters being able to take control of the entire terrace. 

The complaint that detailed the allegations against Schwartz states that he used pepper spray against officers who were retreating. Schwartz also worked with two other rioters as they advanced to a tunnel to spray an orange liquid at officers who were facing off with the rioters. 

“While the stream of liquid did not directly hit any officer, its effect was to heighten the danger to the officers in that tunnel,” Bond said. 

Prosecutors said Schwartz also participated in a “heave ho” push against police in the tunnel before leaving. 

Stallings pleaded guilty to the charges she faced last year and was sentenced to two years in prison last month. 

Schwartz’s defense team had requested that he only be sentenced to four years and six months in prison, arguing that his actions were based on a “misunderstanding” about the 2020 election. They specifically blamed former President Trump for misleading Schwartz. 

“There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the ‘great lie’ that Trump won the election, Donald Trump being among the most prominent,” his attorneys said.  “Mr. Schwartz is not one of these individuals; he knows he was wrong.”

But Mehta said he did not believe Schwartz felt remorse for his actions. Prosecutors said Schwartz bragged about being involved in the riot and claimed he was a political prisoner. 

“You are not a political prisoner,” Mehta said. “You’re not somebody who is standing up against injustice or fighting against an autocratic regime.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.