WASHINGTON (AP) â A New Jersey man who joined a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to more than six years in prison for using pepper spray to assault police officers, one of whom died a day after the siege.
Julian Khater didn't mention the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick or address the officer's family in a written statement he read aloud before U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan sentenced him to six years and eight months of imprisonment.
A medical examiner concluded that Sicknick, 42, suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he and other officers tried to hold off the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Hogan said Sicknick's death was the "elephant in the room" but stressed that the coroner's report didn't give him any basis to use that as a sentencing factor against him. But the judge noted that Khater did not apologize to the officers whom he attacked or express any sorrow for hurting them.
"Somewhere along the line, we've lost the sense of acceptance of responsibility," Hogan said.
Khater replied that he changed his prepared statement to the court on his lawyer's advice after he was recently named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit over his actions on Jan. 6.
"I wanted to apologize to everybody," he said.
The judge gave Khater credit for the nearly two years he has served in pretrial detention. Hogan also ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine.
Khater's friend and co-defendant, George Tanios, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of disorderly and disruptive conduct. Hogan was also scheduled to sentence Tanios, 41, of Morgantown, West Virginia, on Friday.
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Photos: Scenes from the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, members of Congress and family of fallen officers pause for a moment of silence Friday in Washington on the second anniversary of the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a ceremony marking the second anniversary Friday of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Washington.
Serena Liebengood, center right, widow of U.S. Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, embraces Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on Jan. 6, the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington.
Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accompanied by from left, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., incoming House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., along with members of Congress and family of fallen officers, pauses for a moment of silence during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Shannon Terranova, the ex-wife of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, embraces her daughter Abigail Evans during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. William "Billy" Evans was killed in an attack near the Senate side of the Capitol building, where he was manning a barricade in April 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Logan Evans, the son of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, meets with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, left, gathers with other Christian leaders for a prayer vigil Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington to mark the second anniversary of the Capitol riot.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest Jan. 6 outside the Supreme Court on the second anniversary of the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Gladys Sicknick and Charles Sicknick, mother and father of the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, look at the Presidential Citizens Medal that President Joe Biden posthumously awarded to their son during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol on Friday at the White House in Washington.
President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to former Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Former Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, left, speaks with U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
