Donald Trump supporter who bear-sprayed several police officers during Capitol riots is jailed
A Donald Trump supporter who bear-sprayed at least eight police officers during the US Capitol riots has been jailed for three years.
Edward Rodriguez was identified by members of the so-called Sedition Hunters – an online community of investigators helping the FBI and police find people who allegedly committed crimes during the riots on 6 January 2021.
The group, which examines thousands of hours of video and hundreds of images to search for people wanted by the FBI, had referred to Rodriguez as “#SuitMacer” because he was wearing a suit as he assaulted officers with what turned out to be bear spray.
He was also wearing a baseball cap with “Trump” written across it.
Rodriguez was arrested in 2021 and pleaded guilty in March this year.
Prosecutors had sought more than seven years in prison for him. However, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich referenced Rodriguez’s mental health needs as she handed a sentence of three years.
The judge said convicting Rodriguez was “truly one of the hardest January 6th sentencings I’ve had” and alluded to some of the material that was disclosed only in a sealed proceeding. She said Rodriguez needed “continued mental health treatment” but that a period of imprisonment was necessary for general deterrence.
Rodriguez, from Brooklyn in New York, was 28 and working as a real estate agent when he joined rioters during the insurrection.
The judge said Rodriguez was “easily manipulated” and believed it was his duty to come to Washington DC on the day of the riots.
Ms Friedrich added that the defendant had thought the dozens of email messages he received from the Trump campaign and its affiliates about 6 January 2021 were personal invitations rather than mass mailings.
Rodriguez said he was not in a good place at the time of the attack on the Capitol and that he was “spending too much time reading crazy stuff online” and became “disconnected from reality”.
He apologised before the sentence was imposed. “I deeply regret my actions on January 6th,” he said, adding he now realised that officers were using pepper-spray themselves because of how “crazy and chaotic the crowd had gotten”.
He said he was “embarrassed” and “deeply regretful” about his actions.
According to prosecutors, Rodriguez typed “What does bear spray do to humans?” into Google after the attack.
Read more:
Storming the Capitol: How four hours of mayhem unfolded
Former Proud Boys leader jailed for 22 years over January 6 plot
US Capitol rioter pictured with his feet on Pelosi’s desk is jailed
Rodriguez on the day of the riots. Pic: US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
The US government identified at least eight officers who were injured in his spray attack. The justice department often identifies victims of the Capitol riots by their initials and has referred to the eight officers as – Sergeant O.A., Officer M.B., Officer N.D., Officer P.N., Officer B.R., former Officer J.R., Sergeant A.W and Officer A.Z.
Marina Bronstein was one of several of the police officers sprayed by Rodriguez who appeared in court on Monday.
Before the courtroom was sealed, Rodriguez communicated that he wanted to apologise to the officers.
Ms Bronstein was the only one who took him up on it.
“I’m very sorry for what I did,” Rodriguez said in an almost empty courtroom.
Ms Bronstein replied that she had nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder from what happened to her during the attack.
“I don’t forget,” she said. “I do forgive you, but it doesn’t change what happened.
What happened during the US Capitol riots?
The insurrection took place two months after Mr Trump was defeated in the 2020 presidential election.
His supporters rioted outside, and some entered, the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC.
The mob sought to keep Mr Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalise the victory of president-elect Joe Biden.
Five police officers died and 140 were seriously injured in the violence.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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