WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Federal prosecutors have requested that an Arkansas man who was convicted for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot receive over 4 years in prison.
Nathan Earl Hughes pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder, one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds earlier this year.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16.
FBI officials said in their investigation that Hughes was seen in security footage pushing against Capitol police, removing their riot shields and passing them back to other rioters.
Ahead of his sentencing, documents filed on Dec. 6 show prosecutors requested that Hughes serve 51 months in prison and three years supervised release and pay $2,000 restitution, $67,967 in fines, and a $210 special assessment fee.
"As with the nature and circumstances of the offense, this factor supports a sentence of incarceration," prosecutors' documents say. "Hughes’ criminal conduct on January 6 was the epitome of disrespect for the law."
Meanwhile, attorneys for Hughes request that he be sentenced to 24 months of probation with 8 months of home confinement. Alternatively, they ask for 8 months of imprisonment if the court deems incarceration necessary, according to documents filed on Dec. 12.
Attorneys argue Hughes played a limited role in the events on Jan. 6 and pointed to "similar" cases where defendants received lesser sentences than what prosecutors recommend.
The latest documents in the case were filed nearly a month after a federal judge denied Hughes' request to delay his sentencing due to the "high possibility" of a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump.
The former president has repeatedly vowed to take such actions for defendants charged in connection with the Capitol attack.
