Wild-eyed butcher sentenced to seven years in prison on January 6 charges

Man hurled a bow like a spear at police officer on day of Capitol insurrection

Kyle Fitzsimons was wearing a white butcher’s coat embroidered with his first name when he separately assaulted at least five officers. Photo: FBI

A professional butcher whose bloody, wild-eyed face became one of the most memorable images of the US Capitol riot, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for hurling a bow like a spear at police and attacking several other officers.

Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, of Maine, was wearing a white butcher’s coat embroidered with his first name when he separately assaulted at least five officers near a tunnel as police desperately tried to protect an entrance to the Capitol from the angry mob of Donald Trump supporters, prosecutors said.

Fitzsimons apologised to the officers he attacked, the court, his family and “anyone else I've disappointed by my conduct”.

He said he initially resisted the idea that he posed a “danger to the republic”.

“But now I know it to be true,” he told the judge before learning his sentence.

Fitzsimons joined the mob’s attack on police at the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance, according to prosecutors.

He threw his bow like a spear, hitting a Metropolitan Police Department officer’s head. He repeatedly swiped at a police detective’s face, trying to dislodge his gas mask.

“He is lucky I made a choice not to use lethal force on him, but I came very close to,” the officer wrote in a victim impact statement.

As he retreated, Fitzsimons had blood on his face from a blow to his head. Turning his back to the tunnel, he stared “proudly, ferally, and wild-eyed at the angry mob”, prosecutors said in a court filing.

• 

  Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP

• 

  A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP

• 

  The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP

• 

  Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP

• 

  Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP

• 

  Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP

• 

  US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP

• 

  Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP

• 

  Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP

• 

  Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP

• 

  Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP

• 

  Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters

• 

  Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP

• 

  Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters