Ralph Celentano, a 56-year-old resident of New York, was arrested on March 9, 2022. In June 2023, he was found guilty of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, and on Tuesday, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison.
Assaulting police
One of the charges Celentano was convicted of was assaulting law enforcement officers. On Jan 6, Celentano “engaged in several physical altercations with law enforcement officers attempting to hold their police line on the West Front,” the US Attorney’s Office in DC stated. “Celentano locked arms with other rioters and pushed forward to breach the police line and then repeatedly shoved a separate law enforcement officer backward.”
Dangerous actions
After breaching the police line, Celentano spotted another officer standing by a ledge with his back turned. “Celentano approached the officer from behind and rammed the officer in a ‘football-style tackle,’” the Attorney’s Office stated.
Serious damage
“According to court documents,” the Attorney’s Office continued, “the officer was hit so hard that he flipped over the ledge and fell onto officers below him. The officer, an Iraq war veteran, recalled thinking, ‘I didn’t survive a war to go out like this.’”
Telling off
According to District Judge Timothy Kelly, Celentano’s attack was “a truly cowardly and despicable thing to do.” Kelly described Celentano’s participation in the Jan 6 riot as “disgraceful.”
Bad apple
“Celentano’s conduct on January 6, 2021 demonstrates a violent character and disrespect for law enforcement,” the sentencing memo stated. Federal prosecutors argued that this weighed “in favor of a lengthy term of incarceration.”
Not quite the maximum
Prosecutors had asked for a 135-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and a $2,000 restitution.
Talking about events
After Jan 6, Celentano posted about the riot on Parler, a social media network, the Attorney’s Office stated. The rioter also sent multiple text messages discussing the riot.
Unrepentant
According to the Attorney’s Office, in his messages, Celentano “indicated he had fought the Capitol Police and won, taken over the Capitol, and stated that it was a day he would always remember, and that he would do it all over again.”
Total count
In total, Celentano was found guilty of two felony charges and four misdemeanor counts. The other felony charge was civil disorder. The misdemeanors were “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.”
Widespread participation
In the three years since the attack on the Capitol, more than 1,265 people have been charged with crimes related to their actions on Jan 6. Hundreds have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Widespread damage
The Justice Department has estimated that 140 officers were injured during the riot. However, in January 2024, a prosecutor said at a press conference that this estimate “ undercounts the number of officers who were physically injured, let alone those who have suffered trauma as a result of the day’s events.”
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