Illinois man sentenced to nearly 1 year in prison for role in Capitol attack

An Illinois man was sentenced Friday to nearly a year in federal prison for smashing a window in the U.S. Capitol building during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Justin LaGesse, 38, of McLeansboro, about 300 miles south of Chicago, was sentenced to 11 months in prison to be followed by a year of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in September to a felony charge of destruction of property, according to court records.

LaGesse also was ordered to pay $43,315 in restitution for the damage he made when he used his flagpole to break a large exterior window on the Capitol, according to court documents.

LaGesse’s co-defendant, 37-year-old Theodore Middendorf, also of McLeansboro, has pleaded guilty to destruction of property. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12.

The two men entered the Capitol through a broken window about 2:50 p.m. and made their way toward the center section of the building known as the crypt, according to a statement of facts filed in the case.

After leaving the Capitol, LaGesse and Middendorf approached a line of Metropolitan Police Department officers standing behind a bicycle rack barricade. LaGesse called the officers “f------ traitors” and “f------ communist scum,” according to court documents.

The men then walked around to the north side of the building where a group of rioters were trying to break through a door. As officers held back the rioters, LaGesse and Middendorf approached a nearby window and struck it several times with their flagpoles, court documents said. LaGesse carried a yellow flag with decorated with a coiled snake above the phrase “Don’t Tread on Me,” known as a Gadsden flag. Middendorf held an American flag.

LaGesse and Middendorf planned in December 2020 to travel to Washington to join other supporters of former President Donald Trump to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents.

More than 50 Illinois residents have faced criminal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. More than 1,500 people from across the country have been arrested in connection with the attack.

Trump has promised to pardon many of those charged in the attack once he retakes office later this month.