DOJ seeks longest sentence ever for Jan. 6 mobster, Pennsylvania native Peter Schwartz

(The Hill) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks 24 years in prison for a mob convicted of assaulting a police officer on January 6.

In a sentencing memo filed Monday, federal prosecutors claimed that Peter Schwartz already had a long criminal record before the Jan. 6 events.

Originally from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Schwartz convicted Last December, he was found guilty of multiple charges for his role in the Capitol riot, including four felony counts of using dangerous weapons to assault, resist, or obstruct law enforcement officers. .

The DOJ reported that Schwartz, who had traveled to Washington, D.C. with his then-wife Shelley Sterlings, “stole chemical weapons, including pepper spray, that had been left behind by a fugitive officer, and used the pepper spray as a weapon.” We attacked the same thing,” he said. They were desperately trying to escape the growing mob, which was becoming increasingly violent.

Federal prosecutors also said Schwartz attacked several groups of police officers during the riot and “didn’t back down and joined a larger mob in the tunnels as they tried to push their way through the police lines and into the Capitol.” claimed.

“As Schwartz himself admitted, he considered himself to be at ‘war’ that day and wrote in a Facebook post on January 7, 2021, ‘What happened yesterday was the beginning of the war. We were at war now, whether people admit it or not,” the DOJ memo said.

Prosecutors handed down 49-year-old Schwartz a 294-month sentence, which he said was at the “halfway point” in the sentencing guidelines for his crimes.

Schwartz’s legal team said Schwartz was “unprepared to incite violence or attack the Capitol or the police. His actions on January 6 were not anticipated and planned.” of his travels.

Schwartz’s legal team added in the memo that the client “knew very little about the 2020 election and listened to clearly deceptive sources.” Mr. Schwartz has learned his valuable life lessons from this case and will never repeat the actions brought to court in this case. ”

Schwartz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for next month. according to CBS news.