The "most violent" of the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters at the U.S. Capitol who beat officers with poles and doused them with bear spray was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to a report.
David Dempsey, 37, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, handing out the second-largest sentence of all the nearly 1,000 defendants sentenced to this point, the Washington Post reported.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years after his conviction on a seditious conspiracy charge.
"Your conduct on January 6 was especially egregious," Lamberth told Dempsey, the newspaper reported.
"You didn't make a split-second decision to use violence. You did not get carried away in the moment. You have a long and well-documented history of inflicting violence on political opponents," the judge said.
Lamberth also referred to Dempsey's criminal history in California for burglary, drug dealing, evading police and "assault with a caustic chemical" for drenching anti-Trump protesters with bear spray in 2020.
The report said Dempsey showed up at the Capitol along with thousands of pro-Donald Trump supporters wearing a bulletproof tactical vest, a helmet and a covering over his face.
In an interview before he climbed up the Capitol steps, Dempsey ticked off the names of Democrats he hated while standing next to a makeshift gallows erected near the building.
"They don't need a jail cell," Dempsey said, the Washington Post reported. "They need to hang from these."
Dempsey attacked police in the lower West Tunnel, tossing poles at them, showering them with bear spray, and beating an officer in the head with crutches, giving him a concussion.
At one point he shot bear spray inside the mask of one officer, leading the officer to fear for his life.
Dempsey pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting police with dangerous or deadly weapons.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said Dempsey "was one of the most violent rioters, during one of the most violent stretches of time."
