A Florida man was sentenced Friday for felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Barry Bennet Ramey, 39, of Plantation, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
On March 3, 2023, Ramey was found guilty of the felony charges civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding, certain officers following a bench trial in the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.
Ramey was also convicted of misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
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In addition to the prison term, Judge Friedrich ordered 36 months of supervised release and restitution of $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol.
According to court documents, on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Ramey joined a large group of Proud Boys, an organized extremist group of which Ramey is a member, gathering at the Washington Monument. After receiving instructions near the Washington Monument, court documents say that the Proud Boys began to march eastward on the National Mall toward the Capitol starting at about 10:45 a.m.
Court records say that Ramey and the other Proud Boys then circled the Capitol, “casing” the grounds for weak points in the security perimeter. At approximately 1:48 p.m., several U.S. Capitol Police officers were attempting to block rioters’ access to the stairwell leading from the Lower West Terrace to the Upper West Terrace of the building.
According to court documents, Ramey was in a group that pushed forward into the officers, pushing them back and up the stairwell. Ramey then sprayed two officers in the face and eyes with pepper spray. Both officers reported that the spray caused them to become disoriented and have their vision impaired.
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Court documents say that rioters pushed past the remaining officers in the line and up the stairs toward the Capitol building. Ramey and the Proud Boys moved to the side of the stairs and celebrated what they had accomplished.
Ramey then remained on the Capitol grounds for approximately four and a half hours.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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