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Defendant Threw a Flagpole at Officers as if it Were a Spear and Struck Them with a Baton
June 28, 2024 – WASHINGTON – A North Carolina man was sentenced to prison on Thursday on six felonies related to his violent conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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.
Anthony Mastanduno, 61, formerly of Farmingdale, New York, and now a resident of Rutherford County, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to 57 months in prison and 24 months of supervised release.
Mastanduno previously pleaded guilty to six felonies, including civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
In addition to the felonies, Mastanduno previously pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building, parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, around 2:17 p.m., Mastanduno entered the Capitol building via the Senate Wing Door approximately four minutes after it was first breached by rioters. He then made his way to the Capitol Crypt and was at the front of a line of rioters who overwhelmed police officers in the area. Mastanduno then left the Capitol building at around 2:38 p.m. and made his way to the Lower West Terrace.
On the Lower West Terrace, police had formed a defensive line at the mouth of an archway leading to an entrance to the Capitol building known as the Tunnel. The Tunnel was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th. Rioters at the Tunnel battled police officers for hours as they attempted to storm the Capitol building.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., Mastanduno began engaging with fellow rioters and participated in coordinated attacks on uniformed police who were defending the Tunnel. First, Mastanduno picked up and threw a blue, flagpole-like object into the mouth of the Tunnel, as if throwing a javelin or spear, toward a line of police officers. He then obtained a police shield that had been stolen from officers, which he used to push against the same line of police at the mouth of the Tunnel. While Mastanduno pushed, he also used a telescoping baton, which can be worn on one’s hip and which expands in length, to strike at police officers multiple times, aiming for their hands and arms.
By approximately 4:45 p.m., Mastanduno abandoned his position at the Tunnel after being sprayed with a chemical irritant.
The FBI arrested Mastanduno on Aug. 23, 2023, in North Carolina.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina provided valuable assistance.
The FBI’s Charlotte, New York, and Washington Field Offices, which identified Mastanduno as BOLO (Be On the Lookout) #397 on its seeking information photos, investigated this case. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.
In the 41 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,450 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 500 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
