Judge tells 1/6 rioter Capitol Police officers are patriots, sentences him to 3-plus years

Nicholas Languerand, a 26-year-old who has identified himself as a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison Wednesday for assaulting police officers during the January 6 Capitol riot in a hearing that saw the judge sentencing him say the January 6 rioters do not deserve to be described as "patriots," as that description applies to the officers he assaulted.

"The patriots were the police officers who were defending the Capitol building and our democratic values," U.S. District Judge John Bates said, according to The Associated Press.

The conspiracy theory played a significant role in Languerand being at the Capitol. His lawyer said he lost his job in late 2020 and in the weeks following he spent a significant portion of his time consuming online content about QAnon and the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, the AP reported.