North Texas man sentenced to prison for shoving officer at Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A North Texas man was sentenced to prison for shoving a police officer and attempting to break a window during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia announced in a news release Friday.

Jason Farris, 45, of Arlington, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 24 months of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 27, 2023 to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.

Farris traveled from Dallas to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally, according to court documents. After the rally, he marched with a group of protesters to the Capitol. Farris advanced to the front of a mob of rioters and confronted a group of police officers assembled in a line. He said to the officers, “I bet your family is proud of you, [expletive]. You ain’t [expletive]. Ain’t none of you [expletive],” according to court documents.

He also hit a baton held by one of the officers, documents say.

Moments later, other rioters grabbed one of the metal bicycle racks being used by police and attempted to pull it away. Several officers held onto the bicycle rack to keep it from the rioters. Farris approached an officer from behind and shoved him to the ground, according to the release. The officer fell and released the rack, allowing rioters to take it into the crowd. After the officer was helped up, someone in the crowd threw a large metal beam, hitting the officer in the head. The impact knocked the officer to the ground, causing a concussion, according to the release.

Farris “helped to create” a gap between rioters and police, allowing rioters to enter the west plaza of the Capitol, the release says.

As he traveled further into the Capitol grounds with the mob, Farris used a flagpole to hit a window of the Capitol several times in an effort to break it, according to the release.

He was arrested on Feb. 6, 2023 in Arlington.

In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,300 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, including more than 470 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.

The investigation is ongoing.