Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay
February 7, 2024 – WASHINGTON – An Illinois man was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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 2020 presidential election.
Tyng Jing Yang, 61, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., was sentenced to six days in prison by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates for interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, a felony. The sentence is to be served intermittently, that is, three consecutive two-day weekends. Judge Bates also ordered Yang to serve 24 months of probation and pay $3,000 in restitution and fines.
According to court documents, Yang traveled from his home near Chicago to Washington, D.C., to attend a rally at the Ellipse and show his support for the former President on Jan. 6, 2021. After the rally, Yang made his way to the U.S. Capitol and entered the building via the Upper West Terrance door at approximately 2:45 p.m.
Once inside the Capitol, Yang walked up a set of stairs and entered the Rotunda, where he walked about taking pictures and videos on his cell phone. He then exited the Rotunda at approximately 2:47 p.m., only to return a short while later. Court documents say that Yang can be seen on closed-circuit television pumping his fist in the air and watching as an increasing number of police officers fill the Rotunda and pause to take selfie photographs with one another.
At approximately 3:06 p.m., police officers formed a line near the north exit to expel the rioters from the Rotunda. Despite the advancing line of police officers, Yang refused to move back or to leave the area. Instead, beginning at approximately 3:07 p.m., Yang moved towards the line of police officers and was involved in several confrontations with law enforcement. In one instance, Yang rushed directly toward the line of officers and joined with other rioters in aggressively confronting them and obstructing their efforts to clear the U.S. Capitol building. Yang then physically grabbed one officer’s wrist while the officer was working to clear the Rotunda of rioters.
As rioters continued to confront the line of officers, Yang joined them in refusing to exit the Rotunda and pushing back against police. At about 3:09 p.m., one officer began pushing back against a rioter with a police baton. Yang, standing directly behind the rioter, reached around to physically grab ahold of the officer’s baton. The officer broke Yang’s grip on the baton, and shortly thereafter, Yang exited the Capitol at approximately 3:15 p.m.
Yang was arrested on Nov. 16, 2022, in Hoffman Estates.
This case is being 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 Northern District of Illinois.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Chicago and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
