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Defendant Assaulted Three Different Police Officers
August 10, 2023 - WASHINGTON – A Texas man was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on six offenses, including two felonies, committed during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. 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.
Daniel Dink Phipps, 50, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols to 27 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $270 special assessment.
Phipps, a former security guard, had previously accepted responsibility for his conduct and pleaded guilty on May 4, 2023, to two felony offenses, including one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and one count of civil disorder. Phipps also pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or in a Capitol building, parading, and demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Phipps assaulted three separate police officers who were facing off with a violent mob and struggling to move Phipps and other rioters off the Capitol building’s North Terrace. Only after the third assault did Phipps leave the North Terrace.
During the assaults, Phipps threatened the entire group of officers, telling them: “You know this isn’t the end. You know this isn’t over. This is just the beginner [sic]. This is just the beginning!” Two days later, he boasted of his actions on social media, proudly claiming that he “helped take the Hill.”
Phipps traveled from Texas to Washington, D.C., and on January 6th, walked to the Capitol building and made his way onto the North Terrace. At 3:01 p.m., he and others entered the building through the Senate Wing doorway.
After the rally, Phipps walked to the Capitol and made his way onto the North Terrace. At 3:01 p.m., he and others entered the building through the Senate Wing doorway.
Phipps then made his way to the Crypt where he mingled with other rioters for about 20 minutes. He then returned to the North Terrace where he spent the next hour.
At about 4:30 p.m., a line of D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers moved across the terrace, ordering Phipps and the numerous other rioters still present to leave. Phipps refused. Phipps was recorded on MPD body-worn cameras as he violently resisted the officers’ efforts, pushing and shoving three of them.
After the third assault, Phipps finally complied with the officers’ demands and thereafter left the North Terrace and the Capitol grounds.
On January 8, 2021, Phipps tried to justify his participation in the Capitol Riot. In one post to Facebook, Phipps wrote: “Everyone talks about being a Patriot until it's time to do Patriot shit. . . . I went to DC. I helped take the Hill. I helped other Patriots prevent antifa from damaging anything. I exercised my 1st Amendment right to take grievances to our representatives. Where were you on 06JAN21?”
Phipps also posted a photograph of himself inside the Capitol with an American flag draped over his shoulder.
On Jan. 26, 2021, FBI agents arrested Phipps in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.
The FBI’s Dallas Field Office and Washington Field Office conducted the investigation and identified Phipps as BOLO (Be On The Lookout) #341 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Fort Worth Police Department, the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
