New Jersey Resident and Army Veteran Sentenced for His Alleged Role in Capitol Hill Riot; Pepper Sprayed Law Enforcement Officers to Gain Entry in Building: Records
A former member of the Army National Guard police force was given a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for confessing to pepper-spraying law enforcement personnel on January 6, 2021, at a rally led by supporters of former President Donald J. Trump.
Gregory C. Yetman, 47, of Helmetta, New Jersey, was sentenced eight months after he fled into the woods when police attempted to apprehend him, sparking a manhunt in the central New Jersey suburbs.
Two days after his surrender, he entered a guilty plea in April to charges of assaulting, obstructing, or resisting law enforcement during the Capitol incident, according to federal prosecutors.
In addition, Mr. Yetman was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and served an 18-month supervised release period by Federal District Court Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C. While Nicholas D. Smith, Mr. Yetman’s attorney, requested a 17-month sentence, the prosecution had requested a 45-month sentence. Regarding the punishment, Mr. Smith declined to comment.
According to the Justice Department, Mr. Yetman is one of more than 530 persons who will face charges for assaulting or obstructing law enforcement officials and more than 1,470 others who will face charges about the disturbance. In an attempt to stop Joe Biden from being declared the victor of the 2020 presidential contest, he and other Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. The day’s occurrences are still being looked into.
In connection with the disturbance, Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee for president this year, was accused of conspiracy and other criminal charges. In light of a significant Supreme Court decision this month, a federal court will eventually decide whether or not Mr. Trump is exempt from the charges despite his not-guilty plea.
According to an Army spokeswoman, Mr. Yetman served as an enlisted military police officer in the New Jersey Army National Guard from September 2008 to March 2022, when he was promoted to sergeant. According to the spokesman, he was deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in June 2015 and to Afghanistan from September 2012 to May 2013.
According to court filings, Mr. Yetman entered his plea and stated that, on January 6, 2021, he had traveled to Washington, D.C., attended Mr. Trump’s event at the Ellipse, and then strolled to the west side of the Capitol, where he had scaled a platform on the West Terrace of the building.
There, he admitted to joining a rioting mob that was encircling a squad of law enforcement officials attempting to protect the Capitol. Prosecutors alleged that the rioters swiftly surrounded, overpowered, and attacked the officers from all sides.
Prosecutors claim that while the assault went on, Mr. Yetman reached for a pepper spray canister, held it under his arm, and sprayed the cops for 12 to 14 seconds at a close enough distance to do harm, forcing them to back away.
He then let go of the canister and headed back inside, using his phone to record and snap images of the disturbance while he traced his movements as reported by NYTimes.
Prosecutors claim that after his observations at the Capitol, Mr. Yetman shared them on Facebook. According to a court document, he called the police guarding the building “modern brown shirts” and accused Antifa of starting the riot.
According to court records, detectives discovered “multiple firearms and significant quantities of ammunition” at his residence, a loaded gun in his car, and other firearms and weapons in a storage unit after he attempted to elude arrest last November.
Mr. Smith, Mr. Yetman’s attorney, used his client’s military history, close family ties, and “caring and genial nature” to argue for mercy in sentence.
Mr. Yetman was “swept up in the madness of the crowd that descended on the Capitol that day,” Mr. Smith wrote with regret.
Mr. Smith continued, “Like too many others, he engaged in outrageous conduct there.”
Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Offender & Former NYPD Officer Sentenced 22 Months in Federal Prison
