Jan. 6 rioter who wielded 2×4 wooden plank in Capitol sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison

A Colorado man who allegedly hit a police officer with a 2×4 wooden plank during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Friday to nearly three years in prison.

Jacob Travis Clark of Colorado Springs was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release, the Justice Department said in a news release.

Clark had requested nine months in prison and a period of supervised release, according to a sentencing memo written by his lawyer that said Clark “regretted his actions by January 7th.”

During a bench trial in Washington, D.C., this year, Clark was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, a felony, as well as five misdemeanor counts related to his conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to court documents, Clark drove to Washington, D.C., a day before the riot and attended former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, sending a text to his father that read: “It’s a trump thing I’m here for the riots when they say he isn’t the winner lol.”

Clark spent roughly 40 minutes inside the Capitol and was seen in video footage holding a 2×4 wooden plank moments before a U.S. Capitol Police officer was struck with it, the Justice Department said.