On Monday, January 18, a 72-year-old man who participated in the January 6 insurrection of the Capitol Building was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Edwinson E. Dohowei, of Silver Spring, Maryland, had been charged with multiple offenses, including obstructing law enforcement and assaulting an officer who was trying to maintain order at the Capitol during the incident.
Dohowei was previously scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing hearing in late December, but he did not show up. The judge declared him a fugitive and issued a warrant for his arrest. After Dohowei was found and arrested in early January, the judge issued a new hearing date.
At the Monday sentencing, District of Columbia prosecutors asked for a doubling of the recommended 10-year sentence due to Dohowei’s non-appearance. The request was denied, and Dohowei was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with credit for time already served.
Dohowei is one of hundreds of people who have been charged in connection with the January 6 incident. The 10-year-sentence is the strictest yet for any defendant in the insurrection.
Dohowei’s defense lawyer argued that his client had been swept up in the chaotic events of the day, and that there is no evidence suggesting Dohowei tried to overthrow the government. The judge disagreed, citing evidence of a prior plan Dohowei had to storm into the Capitol with other rioters.
The sentencing was seen as a signal by the federal judge to others who were involved in the Capitol siege that the justice system will take action against those who threaten the safety and security of the nation.
On Monday, January 18, a 72-year-old man who participated in the January 6 insurrection of the Capitol Building was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Edwinson E. Dohowei, of Silver Spring, Maryland, had been charged with multiple offenses, including obstructing law enforcement and assaulting an officer who was trying to maintain order at the Capitol during the incident.
Dohowei was previously scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing hearing in late December, but he did not show up. The judge declared him a fugitive and issued a warrant for his arrest. After Dohowei was found and arrested in early January, the judge issued a new hearing date.
At the Monday sentencing, District of Columbia prosecutors asked for a doubling of the recommended 10-year sentence due to Dohowei’s non-appearance. The request was denied, and Dohowei was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with credit for time already served.
Dohowei is one of hundreds of people who have been charged in connection with the January 6 incident. The 10-year-sentence is the strictest yet for any defendant in the insurrection.
Dohowei’s defense lawyer argued that his client had been swept up in the chaotic events of the day, and that there is no evidence suggesting Dohowei tried to overthrow the government. The judge disagreed, citing evidence of a prior plan Dohowei had to storm into the Capitol with other rioters.
The sentencing was seen as a signal by the federal judge to others who were involved in the Capitol siege that the justice system will take action against those who threaten the safety and security of the nation.
