FILE - Trump supporters attempt to break by way of a police barrier on the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. An Alabama man who parked a pickup truck full of weapons and Molotov cocktail elements close to the U.S. Capitol on the day of final yr's riot was sentenced Friday, April 1, 2022, to just about 4 years in jail. (AP Picture/Julio Cortez, File)
An Alabama man who parked a pickup truck full of weapons and Molotov cocktail elements close to the U.S. Capitol on the day of final yr's riot was sentenced Friday to just about 4 years in jail.
U.S. District Choose Colleen Kollar-Kotelly mentioned she nonetheless hasn't heard an evidence for why Lonnie Leroy Coffman had "nearly a small armory in his truck, able to do battle." She sentenced Coffman to 3 years and 10 months in jail, giving him credit score for the multiple yr he already has served since his arrest.
Coffman, 72, of Falkville, Alabama, mentioned he by no means supposed to harm anyone or destroy any property. He mentioned he drove to Washington alone "to attempt to uncover simply how true and safe was the (2020 presidential) election."
"If I had any concept that issues would end up like they did, I'd have stayed house," he wrote in a handwritten letter to the decide.
Greater than 770 individuals have been charged with federal crimes associated to the Capitol riot, when supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the constructing in an effort to disrupt lawmakers' formal certification of his re-election defeat. 5 individuals died and scores of Capitol Law enforcement officials have been severely injured.
Over 240 contributors within the assault have pleaded responsible, largely to misdemeanors punishable by a most of six months imprisonment. Greater than 130 have been sentenced. Coffman is one among 9 defendants whose jail sentence exceeds one yr.
Coffman, a Vietnam Struggle veteran who served within the U.S. Military, pleaded responsible in November to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol and not using a license. He was carrying a loaded handgun and revolver and not using a license as he walked in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, based on prosecutors. He is not accused of coming into the Capitol or becoming a member of the mob in the course of the riot that day.
When Coffman parked his truck a number of blocks from the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, it contained a handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, lots of of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and a cooler containing eleven mason jars with holes punched within the lids, based on prosecutors. Every jar contained a combination of gasoline and Styrofoam, that are elements of the home made incendiary gadgets referred to as Molotov cocktails, prosecutors mentioned.
Regulation enforcement officers discovered the cache of weapons and ammunition after they searched Coffman's truck. That they had been sweeping the realm after pipe bombs have been discovered close to the headquarters of the Republican Nationwide Committee and Democratic Nationwide Committee. Later, investigators additionally discovered Molotov cocktail elements at Coffman's house in Alabama.
"Possession of a lot harmful weapons in our nation's capital is uniquely offensive to our cherished, democratic political traditions," Assistant U.S. Lawyer Michael Friedman mentioned.
Handwritten notes discovered contained in the car included a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that mentioned, "We The Individuals Are The Rightful Masters Of Each The Congress And The Courts, Not To Overthrow The Structure However To Overthrow The Males Who Pervert The Structure."
The notes included a listing of "good guys" and "dangerous guys," with a federal decide named within the latter class, and phone data for a member of a Texas militia group referred to as the "American Patriots," prosecutors mentioned.
"The handwritten notes additionally included an deal with for a reported gathering place in Texas referred to as `Camp Lonestar,' the place militia teams had reportedly sought to patrol the border searching for unlawful aliens," prosecutors wrote.
Investigators had beforehand recognized Coffman as an armed participant at Camp Lonestar, based on prosecutors.
Coffman, a retired machine operator, had travelled to Washington in December 2020 and tried to drive to the house of a U.S. senator who is not named in a court docket submitting by prosecutors. He additionally referred to as the senator's workplace in an effort to "assist with the election fraud he noticed."
"A workers member on the Senator's workplace recorded that the defendant appeared `unbalanced' or `not 100% there' in the course of the name, however didn't appear threatening," prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors really helpful a jail sentence of roughly three years and 6 months. Protection legal professional Manuel Retureta mentioned a jail time period would not be applicable given Coffman's age and medical situation.
Coffman did not have a felony file earlier than this case.
"At my age, one of the crucial treasured (issues) we possess is time, and I've wasted nearly a complete treasured yr," he wrote in his letter to the decide.
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