Ex-Navy Interpreter from Texas Sent to Federal Prison for Jan 6 Capitol Riots in DC

Washington DC: A former Navy interpreter is sent to Federal prison for his alleged involvement in Jan 6 capitol riot in Washington DC.

Matthew DaSilva, a commended interpreter for the U.S. Navy, stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, brandishing a flagpole to target police officers while he and other rioters attacked on officers.

DaSilva, 51 and Texas resident, received a sentence of slightly over two years in prison as reported by Law and Crime.

Since his initial conviction a year ago, he has accumulated nine months of service credit. His attorney requested only three months of imprisonment, but that request was denied.

He appeared before former President Donald Trump’s appointee, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Tuesday and was sentenced. Prosecutors submitted a sentencing memorandum last autumn, requesting a term of 52 months in prison, which is equivalent to approximately four years.

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In July of last year, Nichols rendered a guilty verdict for DaSilva in relation to felony assault and civil disorder offenses. The judge also convicted him of several misdemeanors, including an act of physical violence on Capitol premises, in accordance with a Justice Department statement.

Prosecutors at DaSilva’s bench trial stated that at approximately 2:35 p.m. on January 6, he approached the west plaza of the Capitol and marched toward Capitol Police stationed at the lower west terrace tunnel entrance.

While waving a large blue flag and wielding a flagpole, he joined other rioters who were “engaging in a group ‘heave-ho’ maneuver,” according to the Justice Department. As police used pepper spray to restrain DaSilva, surveillance footage showed him snatching one officer’s riot shield before flailing his arms at them.

Photograph courtesy of the Justice Department illustrates Matthew DaSilva, who is just visible amidst the chaos in the tunnel leading to the United States Capitol (left). His red hat protrudes from among the throngs that raced to the entrance. Matthew DaSilva, on the right (via DOJ).

Additional footage from the assault on the Capitol shows DaSilva supporting the crowd’s obstruction at the tunnel entrance by utilizing his entire body weight to crush himself against police. According to court documents, he briefly knocked an officer off balance during the melee while attempting to wrestle a riot shield away; during that instant, another individual hurled a desk drawer directly at the officer’s head through the window.

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DaSilva petitioned for leniency in a sentencing memorandum through his defense attorney, wherein he highlighted his honorable discharge after 12 years of service as a cryptologic technician interpreter.

His honors included, among others, the Navy Unit Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. His attorney stated that DaSilva was “personally congratulated… for defeating Ivy League graduates in a prestigious Mandarin Chinese linguistic operation competition while representing the military.”

According to Attorney Marina Medvin, DaSilva received praise in 2005 during his deployment in the Pacific for administering first aid to a child who sustained a lacerated foot and was experiencing excessive hemorrhaging. To do so, he utilized his own shirt as a bandage. DaSilva subsequently reunited the child with his parents.

Regarding his behavior on January 6, DaSilva testified in court that he had no intention of causing injury to any officer or causing damage of any kind.

DaSilva claimed that upon his return to Texas on January 6, he sobbed and sobbed in his wife’s embrace, overcome with contrition for his deeds. According to his sentencing memo, he “shaved and cut his unruly facial hair” and began devoting his time to more significant matters, such as his spouse.

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