Man insults judge who sentenced him to 12 years in prison for attacking police during Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A New Jersey electrician who repeatedly attacked police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Friday to 12 years in prison by a judge who called him “a menace to our society.”

Christopher Joseph Quaglin argued with and insulted U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden before and after the judge handed him one of the longest prison sentences among hundreds of Capitol riot cases.

“You're Trump's worst mistake of 2016,” Quaglin told McFadden, who was nominated to the court by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.

Quaglin, 38, joined the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol. He injured a police officer when he choked and tackled him to the ground. Quaglin assaulted other officers with stolen police shields, metal bike racks and pepper spray. He clashed with police for roughly three hours while wearing an American flag-themed “Make America Great Again” sweatshirt.

“What an outrage. What a disgrace,” the judge said.

Quaglin complained about his jail conditions and pushed conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 siege during his rambling remarks in the courtroom. He also took issue with labeling the Jan. 6 attack as an insurrection.

“If I wanted to bring an insurrection, I would have brought a long gun,” he said.

The judge, who cut him off after several minutes, told Quaglin that his combative remarks were a “really bad idea” before sentencing.

“It's a kangaroo court,” Quaglin responded.

Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence Quaglin to 14 years in prison. They said he was one of the most violent rioters on Jan. 6, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.

The judge convicted Quaglin of six separate assaults on police. Prosecutors say he struck or pushed another dozen officers.

“Quaglin understood the constitutional significance of January 6, and intended to disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election by any means necessary, including by viciously assaulting police officers for hours,” prosecutors wrote.

Approximately 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Nearly 900 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years. Only seven Capitol riot defendants have received a longer prison sentence than Quaglin, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

McFadden convicted Quaglin of 14 counts last July after a “stipulated bench trial,” which means the judge decided the case without a jury and based on facts that both sides agreed to before the trial. Such trials allow defendants to maintain appeal rights that are waived by a guilty plea.

Quaglin traveled from his home in North Brunswick, New Jersey, to attend then-President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Leaving the rally early, Quaglin recorded a video of himself as he marched to the Capitol wearing a helmet, a gas mask and a backpack.

After storming barricades near Peace Circle, Quaglin repeatedly attacked officers who were trying to hold off the mob. Capitol Police Sgt. Troy Robinson was injured when Quaglin grabbed him by the neck and tackled him to the ground.

“Quaglin’s attack ignited a short brawl,” prosecutors wrote. “With Quaglin on top of Sergeant Robinson, other rioters came to Quaglin’s assistance and chaos broke loose.”

Quaglin “waged a relentless siege” as he joined other rioters in attacking police in a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, prosecutors said. He helped another rioter steal a shield from an officer. He pepper sprayed several officers in the face. And he joined the mob's collective “heave ho” push against a police line.

“Quaglin was part of some of the most gruesome attacks in the tunnel as he worked with other rioters to ensure that officers were under constant attack,” prosecutors wrote.

Quaglin later celebrated and bragged about his participation in the riot.

"It was a great time. I got bumps and bruises. And we’re having a good time,” he said in a video posted on social media.

Defense attorney Kristi Fulnecky claims Quaglin has received inadequate medical treatment while jailed for the past three years. Fulnecky also said one of Quaglin's former attorneys coerced him into accepting a stipulated bench trial instead of a contested trial.

McFadden told Quaglin that his actions on Jan. 6 were “shocking and lawless.”

“January 6th is not simply an anomaly for you,” the judge said. “You’ve allowed it to define you.”

In this image from U.S. Capitol Police video, released and annotated by the Justice Department in the sentencing memorandum, Christopher Quaglin, appears on police body-worn camera footage at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Quaglin, a New Jersey electrician who repeatedly attacked police officers during the siege at the U.S. Capitol, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. (Justice Department via AP)

In this image from U.S. Capitol Police video, released and annotated by the Justice Department in the sentencing memorandum, Christopher Quaglin, appears on police body-worn camera footage at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Quaglin, a New Jersey electrician who repeatedly attacked police officers during the siege at the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. (Justice Department via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, his first in 24 years, both countries announced.

Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks focused on expanding military cooperation as they deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Putin will pay a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at Kim's invitation. North Korean state media didn’t immediately provide details. Russia confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement.

The visit comes amid growing international concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.

U.S. and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers, which would be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Any weapons trade with North Korea would be a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that Russia, a permanent U.N. Security Council member, previously endorsed.

Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea at Kookmin University in Seoul, noted that in exchange for providing artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles, Pyongyang hopes to get higher-end weapons from Moscow.

Lankov noted that while Russia could be reluctant to share its state-of-the-art military technologies with North Korea, it’s eager to receive munitions from Pyongyang. “There is never enough ammunition in a war, there is a great demand for them,” Lankov told The Associated Press.

Putin first visited Pyongyang in July 2000, months after his first election when he met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, who ruled the country then.

Moscow has said it “highly appreciates” Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and mentioned its “close and fruitful cooperation” at the United Nations and other international organizations.

Russia, together with China, have repeatedly blocked the U.S. and its partners’ attempts to impose fresh U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its barrage of banned ballistic missile tests.

In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it allegedly violates the sanctions to buy weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine, which he had shown to the North Korean leader when they met for a summit in September. Observers said the shipment violated a U.N. resolution aimed at pressuring the North to give up its nuclear weapons program by banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea.

Putin has continuously sought to rebuild ties with Pyongyang as part of his efforts to restore his country’s global clout and its Soviet-era alliances. Moscow’s ties with North Korea weakened after the 1991 Soviet collapse. Kim Jong Un first met with Putin in 2019 in Russia’s eastern port of Vladivostok.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia on Sept. 13, 2023. North Korean leader Kim hailed the country's relationship with Russia on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as reports suggest that Russian President Putin will soon visit the isolated country for his third meeting with Kim.(Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. North Korean leader Kim hailed the country's relationship with Russia on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as reports suggest that Russian President Putin will soon visit the isolated country for his third meeting with Kim.(Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)