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.
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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.
The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, says Donald Trump.
The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.
Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump said the EU deal was the “biggest deal ever made” and it will be “great for cars”.
The US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods into America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy.
He said there will be an EU investment of $600bn in the US, the bloc will buy $750bn in US energy and will also purchase US military equipment.
Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was “fairness”, citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture.
He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes.
For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU.
Ms von der Leyen said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, saying it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.
In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods.
Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a “tough negotiator and dealmaker”.
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At least 11 people have been stabbed at a Walmart supermarket in Michigan, with six in a critical condition.
Officials say a suspect is in custody – and at this stage, it is believed the attack was a “random act” that involved a folding-style knife near the checkout area.
Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters: “Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Pic: AP
The suspect, who is from Michigan, is not known to police – and was captured within three minutes thanks to “citizen involvement”.
The attack unfolded in Traverse City – and Tiffany DeFell, who was in the car park at the time, described scenes of chaos.
“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies.”
Beyond the six people in a critical condition, it is believed the remaining five were seriously hurt. All 11 are still being treated in hospital.
Pic: AP
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.”
A Walmart spokesperson added that the retailer is working closely with law enforcement.
“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a statement said.
Pic: AP
At this stage, the ages of the victims is unclear – but it is not thought any of the victims were Walmart employees.
Traverse City is about 255 miles northwest of Detroit.
A US passenger plane made a dramatic plunge minutes after take-off to dodge another aircraft – injuring two cabin crew and causing passengers to shoot out of their seats.
The Southwest flight had just taken off from Burbank in California when the pilot received an alert about a nearby plane.
Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft dropped by 91m (300ft) in just 36 seconds. Those on board said they felt panicked, and some feared the plane was about to crash.
Comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X: “Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid mid-air collision … myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.”
Stef Zambrano saw a woman who wasn’t wearing her seatbelt thrown out of her seat, who then said: “I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground.”
Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC Los Angeles that it felt like the plane was in freefall for 10 seconds.
“People were screaming. You know, it was pandemonium. People thought the plane was going down,” he added.
The aircraft was able to continue to its destination of Las Vegas, where it safely landed without any further incident.
It is believed the Boeing 737 was in the same vicinity as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a British fighter jet.
Southwest is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the event.
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January: Footage of Washington plane crash
This is the second time in a week that a passenger plane has had to make abrupt flight manoeuvres to avoid a potential mid-air collision.
Concerns have been raised about aviation safety in the US following a series of recent incidents.
In January, a mid-air collision in Washington DC killed 67 people.
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