The man who was recorded punching the glass windows leading to the Speaker’s Lobby during the January 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol — creating the space into which Ashli Babbitt then climbed and was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer — was sentenced to eight years in prison on Thursday, the Washington Post reports. Zachary J. Alam told a federal judge he knew that his breaking the glass was illegal, but he said he felt his actions were justified because he believed the 2020 election was stolen, pointing to Donald Trump’s victory in this year’s presidential race.“Four years later Americans were able to rectify the situation,” Alam quipped. U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich pointed to his “lack of remorse” as she sentenced him to eight years in prison, among the longest terms for a Jan. 6 defendant not affiliated with the Oath Keepers or Proud Boys groups.
The sentence could be short-lived: Trump has promised to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, though he has not said exactly who among them will win his mercy. In court, Alam said he was aware of discussions around pardons for people like him. “But I will not accept a second-class pardon,” Alam said. “I want a full pardon with all the benefits that come with it, including full compensation.” Alam, 33, of Centreville, Virginia, was arrested in January 2021 and has been in jail ever since. Last year, a jury convicted him of seven felony and three misdemeanor counts, and prosecutors called him “one of the most violent and aggressive members that day.”
Prosecutors asked Friedrich to sentence Alam to more than 11 years in prison on the charges of assaulting police, destroying public property and obstructing police during a civil disorder. But Friedrich said she had compared Alam’s case to other Jan. 6 rioters, and also considered Alam’s mental health.
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