US: Man who threatened progressive lawmaker sentenced to three years in prison
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after taking part in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison.
That day, several hundred supporters of Republican President Donald Trump had sown chaos and violence inside the Capitol as elected officials certified the victory of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in the presidential election. /p>
Garrett Miller, 36, was arrested two weeks after the attack. In total, more than 950 people have been arrested in connection with the assault in Washington over the past two years.
Mr. Miller, who has already spent two years in prison, could be freed in eight months if he behaves well, his lawyer Clinton Broden said.
During the assault , Mr. Miller forced his way inside the Capitol, refusing to obey the orders of the police officers on site, according to court documents. Authorities claimed he was aggressive toward law enforcement and grabbed the baton from one of the officers on the scene who was trying to evict him from the Capitol.
In the evening, the elected Democrat of New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, nicknamed “AOC”, had called on Twitter for the dismissal of Donald Trump. Assassinate AOC, Mr. Miller had retorted.
Shortly after the 2020 election, he also threatened Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Instagram, according to the prosecutors who were seeking a four-year prison sentence.
Mr. Miller's lawyer, however, said there was no indication that his client intended to harm anyone.
In a letter to the judge, Garrett Miller called his social media posts disgusting and absolutely embarrassing, while apologizing to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Mr. Schumer.
I feel deep regret that I did not help the police that day and instead caused destruction and pain. It was unnecessary, barbaric and disrespectful. I was proud, arrogant and acted out of anger, he wrote in his letter.
Mr. Miller pleaded guilty last December to assaulting law enforcement and threatening charges against Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.
In a separate filing, he was charged in February in federal court in Texas for possession of an unregistered firearm, according to court documents. When he was arrested on the January 6, 2021 charges, authorities found an AR-style rifle in his home that had been configured to fire like a machine gun.
