Massachusetts man sentenced to prison for assaulting law enforcement during January 6 Capitol breach

WASHINGTON D.C./MASSACHUSETTS — A Massachusetts man was sentenced Friday on felony and misdemeanor charges for assaulting law enforcement during the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

According to the Washington D.C. Department of Justice, 61-year-old Vincent J. Gillespie of Athol, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 68 months in prison for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Gillespie was found guilty on December 23, 2022, following a jury trial in the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Gillespie to pay a fine of $25,000, restitution of $2,000, and to serve 36 months of supervised release.

Gillespie was arrested on February 18, 2022, in Athol, Massachusetts.

The evidence at trial showed that on January 6, 2021, from approximately 4:11 p.m. to 4:26 p.m., Gillespie was among rioters in the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol who engaged in pushing, shoving, yelling, and fighting with law enforcement officers. He struggled his way through the crowd, eventually maneuvering through the rioters to the line of police officers defending the Lower West Terrace’s exterior door. At one point, he gained control of a police shield and used it to ram the police. He then used two hands to grab a Metropolitan Police Department sergeant by the arm, yanking him toward the mob. He then screamed “traitor” and “treason” at the police.

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 District of Massachusetts.

The case was investigated by the FBI Boston Division’s Springfield, Massachusetts Resident Agency Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI Boston Division’s Worcester Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Athol, Massachusetts Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Gillespie was identified as #141 on the FBI Washington Field Office’s seeking information photos.

In the 27 months since January 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.