A retired Air Force officer has been sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol storming, which saw him enter the Senate chamber wearing tactical gear and carrying zip-tie handcuffs.
Retired Lt. Col. Larry Brock had been convicted in November on six charges: a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and five other misdemeanors, Military.com reported.
Prosecutors said Brock subscribed to theories of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and evidence showed that Brock had written on Facebook about a “plan” to “seize” and interrogate lawmakers and officials.
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He attended former President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., rally the day of the storming and wore a helmet and tactical vest when he entered the Capitol. Once he was inside, picked up a pair of zip-tie handcuffs that he carried into the second-floor gallery in the Senate chamber, Military.com reported.
Brock was active-duty in the Air Force from 1989 to 1998, served in the reserves till 2014, and flew combat missions in Afghanistan, according to Military.com. He was a commercial airline pilot at the time of the Capitol storming, but his license was revoked following his arrest that month, Brock’s lawyer said.
Reading some of Brock’s social media posts aloud, U.S. District Judge John Bates described them as “chilling stuff” that was “really pretty astounding” coming from a former high-ranking military officer, Military.com reported.
In a Facebook message on Christmas Eve, Brock described a “plan of action if Congress fails to act” on Jan. 6, one of the “main tasks” of which was to “seize all Democratic politicians and Biden key staff and select Republicans.” He also wrote, “Do not kill LEO unless necessary,” likely referring to law enforcement officers.
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The “plan of action” also involved a “general pardon for all crimes up to and including murder of those restoring the Constitution and putting down the Democratic Insurrection.” He reportedly wrote that he would conduct “interrogations using measures we used on al-Qaida to gain evidence on the coup.”
“When we get to the bottom of this conspiracy we need to execute the traitors that are trying to steal the election, and that includes the leaders of the media and social media aiding and abetting the coup plotters,” Brock wrote on Facebook six days after the 2020 election.
Brock’s attorney, Charles Burnham, said it was “inconceivable that (Brock) was motivated by anything other than genuine concern for democracy.” He added that if Brock “was sincerely motivated by high ideals, it significantly reduces his culpability even if the Court should privately disagree with his view,” Military.com reported.
