ATLANTA – A Georgia man has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bruno Cua, 21, of Milton, also received 36 months of supervised release Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss.
According to stipulated facts, Cua and his parents attended the rally at the Washington Monument that day, then walked to the Capitol. After arriving there, Cua separated from his parents and entered the building armed with the type of baton police typically carry.
After reaching the doors to the Senate Gallery, he assaulted a Capitol Police officer trying to lock the doors by violently shoving him. The officer Cua attacked and fellow officers on the scene retreated from the doors without locking them.
After rushing into the Senate Gallery, Cua jumped to the floor of the chamber, walked to the dais, and sat in the vice president’s chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He was escorted out of the chamber by law enforcement personnel.
Before the attack, Cua made multiple statements on social media about his plans to violently interrupt the proceedings certifying the election of Democrat Joe Biden to the presidency over incumbent Republican Donald Trump.
After Jan. 6, Cua admitted on social media that he took part in the attack using violence and that more violence might be necessary in the future.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta field office, working with the federal agency’s Washington, D.C., field office and the Capitol Police.
During the 30 months since the attack, at least 1,070 have been arrested in all 50 states. More than 350 have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.