Man who pushed a police officer over a ledge on January 6 is sentenced to six years

A Queens man who attacked a police officer and pushed him over an edge during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced this week to six and a half years in prison, court records show.

The man, Ralph Joseph Celentano III, 56, of Broad Channel, was sentenced Tuesday, according to court records. A jury convicted him last June of two felonies — assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer, and interfering with officers during a civil disorder — and several misdemeanors, court records show.

In sentencing Mr. Celentano, the Justice Department said in a news release, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the Federal District Court in Washington called his actions during the riot “disgraceful” and his attack on the officer “a truly cowardly and despicable deed. .”

According to the Justice Department, Mr. Celentano is one of more than 1,265 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. He and other supporters of former President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. A federal investigation into the day's events continues.

Mr. Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination in this year's presidential election, faces federal conspiracy and other charges stemming from the riot. He has pleaded not guilty.

A federal public defender representing Mr. Celentano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a court filing before the sentencing, Mr. Celentano's lawyers said he grew up as a church-going Boy Scout and then had a 30-year career as a union carpenter. He was forced to leave work due to on-the-job injuries and had spent much of his free time surfing and skateboarding before he was charged in the attack on the Capitol, the lawyers wrote.

Mr. Celentano came to Washington on the day of the riot to attend a rally for Mr. Trump and had no violence in mind, his lawyers wrote.

“He is a man who deeply believed that the election was stolen, who was dissatisfied with his government, and who received his news from sources that fed him misinformation,” the lawyers wrote.

According to the court documents, after the meeting, Mr. Celentano went to a spot near the Capitol where he was recorded saying, “Somebody has to do something!”

“What do you think we should do?” someone asked off camera.

“Occupy the Capitol,” Mr. Celentano responded. “It's our building.”

He and other rioters linked arms and marched straight toward police officers protecting the building, court documents show. Mr. Celentano fought with several officers, chasing and pushing one of them, court documents show.

At one point, he tackled a Capitol Police officer from behind, lifted the officer to his feet and threw him over a five-foot ledge, court documents show.

After attacking the officer and while still on the Capitol grounds, Mr. Celentano filmed a video celebrating the work of the mob, the Justice Department said in the news release. In the days that followed, the release said, he wrote in text messages and social media posts that it was a day he would always remember and that he would do it all over again.