A Van Nuys man described by federal prosecutors as “one of the most violent rioters” during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday, one of the longest sentences issued to a defendant for the attack.
David Nicholas Dempsey, 37, used flag poles, metal crutches and broken pieces of furniture during the 2021 riot, injuring police and other insurrectionists, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and breach of the U.S. Capitol in January.
Protesters gather on the second day of pro-Trump events fueled by President Donald Trump’s continued claims of election fraud in an to overturn the results before Congress finalizes them in a joint session of the 117th Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Dempsey traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and is seen in video standing near a wooden structure representing a hanging gallows while saying politicians like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Jerry Nadler should be hanged in a livestream on YouTube.
“That’s what they need,” Dempsey said in a YouTube livestream, according to prosecutors. “They don’t need a jail cell.”
Shortly after, Dempsey took part in some of the most violent attacks captured on video on Jan. 6.
In a sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors referred to Dempsey’s actions during the Jan. 6 uprising as among the most violent.
“For over one hour, defendant David Dempsey viciously assaulted and injured police officers defending the Lower West Terrce Tunnel with a variety of implements he refashioned as weapons,” prosecutors argued in court filings. “Dempsey was one of the most violent rioters, during one of the most violent stretches of time, at the scene of the most violent confrontations at the Capitol.”
This image from video from the Justice Department contained in the sentencing memorandum, and annotated by the source, shows David Nicholas Dempsey throwing a pole at a police officer in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Dempsey, a California man with a history of political violence, was sentenced on Aug. 9, 2024, to 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
(Justice Dept. / Associated Press)
While other Jan. 6 rioters slowly made their way to the Capitol, prosecutors said Dempsey climbed over people, “using them like human scaffolding, thrusting himself to the front.”
Dempsey used flag poles, crutches, pepper spray and pieces of furniture as weapons, in what officials described as a prolonged attack that affected both sides of the melee.
“Dempsey’s violence reached such extremes that, at one point, he attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him,” prosecutors wrote.
When one rioter compromised the gas mask of a Metropolitan Police Department Detective, Dempsey used pepper spray to attack the officer.
Minutes later, Dempsey also hit another officer with a metal crutch, making the officer fall back in a daze and with his gas mask face shield crushed.
United States Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger applauded the sentence Friday.
“David Dempsey was one of the most violent participants and at times lead parts of the assaults on multiple officers who were protecting the Capitol that day,” Manger said in a statement. “We thank the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
In seeking a severe sentence, prosecutors argued Dempsey had a history of political violence. In 2019, he was arrested on suspicion of using pepper spray during a political rally.
Dempsey is one of 1,488 people who have faced criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 attack. Last month, two women from Southern California were charged for their role in the insurrection. In March, prosecutors charged a woman from Northridge.
Their respective futures and their prison sentences could hang in the balance during this year’s presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump, has said in previous interviews, including during a recent appearance with a panel from the National Association of Black Journalists, that he would issue pardons to Jan. 6 rioters.
“Oh, absolutely, I would, if they’re innocent I would pardon them,” Trump said during the panel. “They were convicted by a very tough system.”