Man who parked weapons near Capitol on 1/6 gets prison

An Alabama man who parked a pickup truck full of weapons and Molotov cocktail parts close to the U.S. Capitol on the day of final 12 months’s riot was sentenced Friday to almost 4 years in jail.

U.S. District Choose Colleen Kollar-Kotelly stated she nonetheless hasn’t heard a proof for why Lonnie Leroy Coffman had “virtually a small armory in his truck, able to do battle.” She sentenced Coffman to a few years and 10 months in jail, giving him credit score for the multiple 12 months he already has served since his arrest.

Coffman, 72, of Falkville, Alabama, stated he by no means meant to harm anyone or destroy any property. He stated 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 prove like they did, I might 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 reelection defeat. 5 individuals died throughout and within the aftermath of the riot and scores of Capitol Cops had been significantly injured.

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Over 240 members 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 in every of 9 defendants whose jail sentence exceeds one 12 months.

Coffman, a Vietnam Conflict veteran who served within the U.S. Military, pleaded responsible in November to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol with out a license. He was carrying a loaded handgun and revolver with out a license as he walked in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, in accordance with prosecutors. He isn’t accused of getting into the Capitol or becoming a member of the mob throughout 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, tons of of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and a cooler containing eleven mason jars with holes punched within the lids, in accordance with prosecutors. Every jar contained a mix of gasoline and Styrofoam, that are parts of the home made incendiary units referred to as Molotov cocktails, prosecutors stated.

Supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Cops outdoors the Senate Chamber contained in the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington.
(AP Photograph/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Legislation enforcement officers discovered the cache of weapons and ammunition once they searched Coffman’s truck. That they had been sweeping the realm after pipe bombs had been discovered close to the headquarters of the Republican Nationwide Committee and Democratic Nationwide Committee. Later, investigators additionally discovered Molotov cocktail parts 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 stated.

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Handwritten notes discovered contained in the automobile included a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that stated, “We The Folks 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 an inventory of “good guys” and “unhealthy guys,” with a federal decide named within the latter class, and get in touch with info for a member of a Texas militia group generally known as the “American Patriots,” prosecutors stated.

“The handwritten notes additionally included an tackle for a reported gathering place in Texas referred to as ‘Camp Lonestar,’ the place militia teams had reportedly sought to patrol the border on the lookout for unlawful aliens,” prosecutors wrote.

Trump supporters attempt to break by a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol in Washington. 
(AP)

Investigators had beforehand recognized Coffman as an armed participant at Camp Lonestar, in accordance with 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 isn’t 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 employees member on the Senator’s workplace recorded that the defendant appeared ‘unbalanced’ or ‘not 100% there’ throughout the name, however didn’t appear threatening,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors really helpful a jail sentence of roughly three years and 6 months. Protection lawyer Manuel Retureta stated a jail time period wouldn’t be applicable given Coffman’s age and medical situation.

Coffman didn’t have a legal file earlier than this case.

“At my age, one of the treasured (issues) we possess is time, and I’ve wasted virtually a complete treasured 12 months,” he wrote in his letter to the decide.