A Van Nuys man described by federal prosecutors as “one of the most violent rioters” during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison, one of the longest sentences ever handed down to a defendant in the attack. one.
David Nicholas Dempsey, 37, used flagpoles, metal canes and broken furniture during riots in 2021, injuring police officers and other insurrectionists, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and breaking into the U.S. Capitol in January.
Protesters, fueled by President Donald Trump’s continued claims of election fraud, gathered during a second day of pro-Trump events to prepare for the joint meeting of the 117th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, January 6, 2021. meeting to overturn the election results before they are finalized.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Dempsey traveled to Washington, DC, to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and is seen in video standing near a wooden structure representing a hanging gallows while saying politicians like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Jerry Nadler should be hanged in a livestream on Youtube.
“That’s all they need,” Dempsey said during a YouTube livestream, according to prosecutors. “They don’t need a jail cell.”
Soon after, Dempsey was involved in some of the most violent attacks captured on film on Jan. 6.
In a sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors called Dempsey’s actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection one of the most violent.
Prosecutors argued in court documents: “For more than an hour, defendant David Dempsey viciously attacked and injured police officers guarding the Lower West Terrace Tunnel using a variety of tools that he converted into weapons.” “Dempsey was one of the most violent rioters and was the scene of the most violent confrontations at the Capitol during one of the most violent periods.”
This image from Justice Department video included in the sentencing memorandum and annotated by sources shows David Nicholas Dempsey in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington Throwing a pole at a police officer. Dempsey, a California man with a history of political violence, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on August 9, 2024, for repeatedly attacking police officers with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the U.S. Capitol riots.
(Department of Justice/AP)
As other rioters slowly made their way toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors said Dempsey crawled through the crowd and “used them as human scaffolding to push himself in front.”
Dempsey used a flagpole, a cane, pepper spray and furniture as weapons in what officials described as a lengthy attack that affected both sides of the melee.
“Dempsey’s violence reached such extreme levels that at one point he attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him,” prosecutors wrote.
When a rioter destroyed a Metropolitan Police detective’s gas mask, Dempsey used pepper spray to attack the officer.
Minutes later, Dempsey hit another officer with a metal cane, causing the officer to fall backwards dazed and his gas mask visor was crushed.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger praised the verdict Friday.
“David Dempsey was one of the most violent participants and at times led the attack on multiple police officers who were protecting the Capitol that day,” Manger said in a statement. “We are grateful to the FBI, Department of Justice and “The U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated and prosecuted this case.”
In seeking a hefty sentence, prosecutors argued that Dempsey had a history of political violence. In 2019, he was arrested for allegedly using pepper spray at a political rally.
Dempsey is one of 1,488 people facing criminal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Last month, two women from Southern California were charged for their role in the insurrection. In March, prosecutors charged a Northridge woman.
Their respective futures and prison sentences may hang in the balance during this year’s presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump has said in previous interviews, including a recent appearance on a panel for the National Association of Black Journalists, that he would pardon the Jan. 6 rioters.
“Oh, sure, I would, if they were innocent, I would pardon them,” Trump said during the panel discussion. “They were convicted by a very harsh system.”
