A federal judge on Monday sentenced a western Wyoming man to more than three years in prison for striking a police officer with a flagpole while participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

Douglas Harrington, a 69-year-old Navy veteran, was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, federal court records show. 

U.S. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg convicted Harrington of assaulting an officer and civil disorder, along with five misdemeanors, following a July bench trial in Washington. On the afternoon of the Jan. 6 riot, Harrington swung a flagpole at multiple officers and rushed a police line.

Federal prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison sentence for Harrington, who lives in the Star Valley community of Bedford, arguing he planned for violence that day, joined the mob and attacked officers.

“Harrington’s criminal conduct on January 6 was the epitome of disrespect for the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Mirabelli wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Harrington continued to demonstrate his lack of respect for the law through his continuous posts and messages deriding prosecution of crimes related to January 6 and promoting further political violence.”

Attorneys for Harrington sought a prison sentence of 18 months, contending their client’s conduct that day wasn’t reflective of how he’s lived the rest of his life.

“Mr. Harrington regrets the actions he took on January 6, 2021, not because he fears the consequences for his actions, but because he recognizes now that these actions were foolish, dishonorable, and out of line with his sense of right and wrong,” Deputy Federal Public Defenders Jake Crammer and Lisa LaBarre wrote. “He is sorry, has repented of his mistakes, and promises the Court to never let himself be put in a similar position again.”

Jan. 6, 2021 

Federal prosecutors say Harrington traveled to the nation’s capitol after spending weeks denouncing the results of the 2020 presidential election, which then-President Donald Trump falsely claimed was stolen. In messages to others, Harrington expressed anger over the outcome of the election and described plans for violence. 

“We’re planning to f*** up antfa and blm thus [sic] time we want blood these pussies are f***ing criminal,” he wrote in a Dec. 31, 2020 text message, court documents state.

Harrington attended the Stop the Steal Rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, and then walked to the Capitol. He brought with him a painter’s respirator mask and carried a flagpole with U.S. and Trump flags attached. Prosecutors say he passed through a heavily barricaded area and knew police were trying to keep rioters from advancing. At his trial, Harrington acknowledged that he was aware police had used tear gas and rubber bullets at the Capitol grounds.

While police and rioters were engaged in a violent struggle at the Upper West Terrace, Harrington donned his painter’s respirator mask and goggles and, at 3:42 p.m., approached a line of officers and challenged them with hand gestures, according to prosecutors. 

“Well, if they wanted to pick on someone, I’m more than capable to defend myself,” he testified at trial when asked about the message he had sought to communicate to the officers.

Harrington swung the flagpole in the direction of police officers on the line, and when Metropolitan Police Department Officer Samuel Mott intervened, he swung the pole at him and struck the man near his left hand and wrist and on his helmet, prosecutors say. Two other officers responded, one deploying pepper spray and a second firing a 40-mm non-lethal round at Harrington. He took one or two more swings toward police before retreating into the crowd.

About five minutes later, Harrington and other rioters used a large piece of opaque material to push into the police line. Prosecutors say he grabbed and pulled at an officer’s baton and apparently tried to grab an officer’s utility belt.

Authorities finally escorted Harrington off the Capitol grounds at 5:48 p.m. that day. He later testified that he was not attempting to get into the Capitol building itself. But prosecutors noted that he sent a text message that day saying he was “breaking down fencing to gain entry into the Capitol building.”

Citing text messages, prosecutors contend Harrington didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

“We caused the riot because the government devils dont [sic] get it,” he wrote two days after the riot.

“We should have grabbed all of the traitors and waited for military tribunals,” he texted three days after that.

How long behind bars?

In arguing for a lengthy prison term, prosecutors insisted that Harrington lacked any remorse. 

“He never took any responsibility for striking Officer Mott with the flagpole,” they wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “To the contrary, he blamed Officer Mott for defending his fellow officers from Harrington’s attacks with the flagpole … Similarly, when testifying about pushing into the police line with the large piece of opaque material, he attempted to blame others, saying he was ‘goaded’ into doing so by other rioters … In reality, Harrington was a ready and willing participant.”

Harrington’s attorneys acknowledged he “made some grave mistakes in the heat of the January 6 demonstration, mistakes that warrant punishment.”  But his conduct that day was out of the ordinary for the Vietnam War veteran, who since retiring and moving to Wyoming, frequently performs plumbing and electrical work for elderly and low-income members of his church who don’t have the ability or resources to do the work themselves.

Defense attorneys also pointed out that Harrington was acquitted of several charges including using the flagpole to cause bodily injury to Mott. The officer did not seek medical attention for his left wrist until 20 months after the riot and didn’t undergo surgery until three years after the riot. Further, the officer may have been injured by another rioter that afternoon.

“Mr. Harrington spent over 60 years of his life evincing nothing but respect for the law and for law enforcement particularly, and in the nearly four years that have transpired since January 6, 2021, he has not engaged in any similar misconduct,” his lawyers wrote. “He has learned from his mistakes, and the Court should have little fear that he will ever commit a similar crime again.”

How much prison time Harrington actually serves remains to be seen. Trump, who was elected to a second term earlier this month, indicated in a July interview that he may pardon Jan. 6 rioters. 

The Wyoming Gaming Commission approved Wyoming’s first mile-long horse-racing track for 16 live race dates in 2025, as well as simulcasting and related activities.

The first racing season at Thunder Plains Park will feature temporary structures, but the essential components, including barns, racing officials’ tower, video patrol towers and spectator areas, will be in place.

The track, located 10 miles east of Cheyenne at Thunder Plains Park, will host its inaugural race day on Friday, Aug. 1, with additional race days to follow on Aug. 2, 3, 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31 and Sept. 1. Dates are subject to change per the Wyoming Gaming Commission.

With its convenient location along I-80, the track is set to draw racing fans from neighboring states in the mountain west region, as well as local fans from Cheyenne and surrounding areas.

“As a fifth-generation Wyomingite, being able to bring this track to our state carries a lot of meaning,” said Ryan Clement, managing partner of Thunder Plains. “Thunder Plains sees an incredible opportunity to create a positive impact not only on the Wyoming horse racing industry but also the area’s economy, in terms of new job opportunities and tourism revenue.”

Through partnerships with elite industry veterans and horsemen, Thunder Plains looks forward to bringing high-quality, high-caliber racing to Laramie County.

“We’ve established a strong partnership with 1/ST, North America’s pree-minent Thoroughbred racing, entertainment and pari-mutuel wagering company,” Clement said. “They’ve set the standard for horse safety across the nation, and we’re looking forward to bringing that strong emphasis on safety and track protocols to Wyoming.”

Of the partnership with Thunder Plains, 1/ST Technology senior vice president Jeff True said he sees exciting opportunities ahead.

“1/ST has a long history of operating premier racetracks and premier racing events across the country. We are thrilled to be entering the Wyoming horse racing market together with our local Wyoming partners, and we look forward to lending our expertise to help grow Wyoming horse racing.”

For all simulcasting operations, 1/ST will leverage the expertise of its affiliates at Monarch Content Management, AmTote International and PariMAX.

“Our racetrack will be operated with numerous horse safety and welfare protocols in place,” Clement said. “The track itself, being a mile long and eighty feet wide, dramatically improves horse and rider safety. Throughout track design and construction, we collaborated with Dennis Moore, a renowned track-surface specialist, to ensure the safest, most high-quality racing surface.”

Moore’s professional history includes designing and building world-class racetracks across the county, as well as consulting on track safety projects at racetracks across the country and around the world. Moore’s projects have included the racing surfaces at Santa Anita Park, Del Mar, Lone Star Park, Remington Park and in Dubai, among others.

Future plans at Thunder Plains Park include building a regional equestrian center and establishing a high-altitude horse training and breeding program.

CASPER, Wyoming — Between 1847 and 1868, more than 60,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed through what is now Casper on their overland trek to Salt Lake City, crossing the North Platte River at a spot not far from the new Casper Wyoming Temple.

Most early members came across the plains without severe incident, but members of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies of 1856 suffered starvation, exposure, death and other ordeals. A significant event was the 1856 Sweetwater River rescue in Central Wyoming, in which young men carried desperate pioneers across the freezing water.

One of those young men was David Patten Kimball, great-grandfather of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“My grandfather, Crozier Kimball, explained to me that one of the reasons these young men were heroic was because they were following the prophet,” said Elder Cook. “He taught me that following the counsel of the prophet in our own day would be equally heroic.”

Now, Latter-day Saints in Casper will participate in that kind of heroism by rescuing their ancestors through temple work.

On Sunday, Nov. 24, Elder Cook dedicated the Casper Wyoming Temple in a single 10 a.m. session broadcast to all units within the Casper temple district. It is the Church’s 201st dedicated and operating temple.

Serving 15,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 50 congregations within its district, the Casper Wyoming Temple is the state’s second dedicated and operating house of the Lord, following the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, which was dedicated in 2016. The Cody Wyoming Temple, which was announced in 2021, held its groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 27, 2024.

Elder Cook said there are great blessings for those who engage in the work of redeeming the dead, particularly in regards to a person’s own ancestors.

“I believe that the youth of the Church will have greater protection from the adversary if they immerse themselves in searching for their ancestors, preparing their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and gift of the Holy Ghost, or act as a witness,” Elder Cook said.

Saints in the temple district have currently been traveling to the Fort Collins Colorado Temple or the Bismarck North Dakota Temple.

Casper Wyoming East Stake President Steven D. Higginson said, “Not only is it going to be wonderful to be close to a temple to do ancestral work, but so many more of our members will have the opportunity to serve inside the temple as temple workers,” he said. “The blessings will be just as important for those who did not have that opportunity before.”

During the two week open house from Aug. 29-Sept. 14, 27,000 people came to tour the temple.

Beth Worthen, a long-time Casper resident and chair of the temple open house committee, shared the community’s warm reception. She’s spoken with locals, civic leaders, business leaders and others who feel that the temple brings peace to the community.

“It’s our responsibility to keep talking about the temple and the feelings that it gives us and the transformational power that it holds, so that people in our community are continually reminded of that and see how it can fit into their lives,” she said.

Read more about today’s dedication in the Church News.