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Austin man sentenced to 6 months in prison in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol breach

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Geoffrey Shough, 38, will spend six months in prison for interfering with an officer during a civil disorder.

AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin man was sentenced on Wednesday in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Geoffrey Shough, 38, will spend six months in prison for interfering with an officer during a civil disorder.

Documents showed that Shough was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, where he attended a rally near the Ellipse. Then, at 1:50 p.m., he and a crowd of other rioters entered the West Lawn illegally. The documents go on to say that Shough – who was wearing a jacket, an armored vest and waiving a Texas flag – was with rioters as they attacked officers near the northwest steps.

The documents stated that Shough moved outside the Senate Wing Door and he was "among the first individuals in the crowd that overwhelmed officers during the breach of the Senate Wing Door at approximately 2:48 p.m."

Shough exited the Capitol at approximately 3:03 p.m. after he walked through the Crypt, the House Wing Door and through the Hall of Columns.

On March 1, 2022, Shough was arrested in Austin.

During his plea hearing, he admitted to telling officers that they "should go home" and having "animated conversations with one or more of the officers."

Shough pleaded guilty on Aug. 16, 2022. Along with his six months of prison time, he is also ordered 12 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by the U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.

Since the Jan. 6 incident, there have been more than 1,000 individuals arrested across the nation and more than 320 people charged with "assaulting or impeding law enforcement."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security's Division's Counterterrorism Section, along with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, are prosecuting this case.

The FBI San Antonio Central Texas Join Terrorism Task Force along with help from the FBI's Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police are investigating this case.

This case remains under investigation.

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