Man who assaulted four officers during Capitol riot is sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Minnesota man who repeatedly attacked police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, wielded a police baton as a weapon and stole two riot shields was sentenced on Thursday to nearly three years in prison.

Brian Mock, 44, helped remove two police barricades before he assaulted four officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege. He shoved one of the officers in the chest and knocked him onto the ground, where other rioters kicked and hit him.

Mock asked for leniency before Chief Judge James Boasberg sentenced him to two years and nine months in prison.

“I’m not someone who showed up in tactical gear, with tasers and bear spray,” he said. “It’s a moment that I got caught up in.”

But the judge said Mock clearly came to Washington, D.C., expecting violence on Jan. 6.

“So it’s hard to think you came simply as a bystander,” Boasberg said.

Boasberg convicted Mock of all 11 counts in his indictment, including felony assault charges, after hearing testimony without a jury. Mock testified and represented himself at his July 2023 trial.

Prosecutors recommended sentencing Mock to nine years and one month in prison. He’ll get credit for the nearly one year that he spent in jail awaiting trial.

Mock said jail was a traumatic experience for him. The judge noted that Jan. 6 was a “scarring” experience for the officers whom he assaulted.

“These were searing moments for them and searing moments for the country,” Boasberg added.

Mock, a landscaping company owner and former debt collector, was arrested in June 2021 on riot-related charges. He wasn’t charged with entering the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Mock recruited his girlfriend and another friend to drive with him to Washington, D.C., for then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Before leaving, Mock told his oldest son that he might die there.

Mock was the focus of a New York Times article that explored his relationship with his oldest son. Prosecutors cited Mock’s comments to the newspaper as evidence of his lack of remorse and refusal to accept responsibility for his crimes.