Mississippi Coast man sentenced for attacking multiple police officers in US Capitol riot
A Mississippi Coast man was sentenced to more than six years in prison for assaulting law enforcement during the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.
James McGrew, of Biloxi, took part in the breach of the Capitol and “engaged in a series of confrontations with law enforcement officers,” court documents say.
The 40-year-old “was part of a crowd that overwhelmed law enforcement officers attempting to prevent rioters from advancing further on the restricted grounds,” according to the press release. “He proceeded to an area outside the Upper West Terrace doors to the Capitol Building. He shot video of the scene, shouting ‘let’s go’ approximately 14 times, and ‘we took this thing.’”
Once inside at 2:45 p.m., McGrew — who also briefly lived in California — moved to the Rotunda where he pushed one officer and struck another as law enforcement tried to clear rioters out of Capitol building, court documents say.
Two minutes after that, the press release says, McGrew struck another officer and lunged for his baton.
McGrew and others were forced out of the building at 3:22 p.m., but he then joined others in an attack as officers attempted to clear the Lower West Terrance tunnel entrance to the Capitol.
Less than hour later, McGrew threw a wooden handrail with metal brackets attached down the tunnel, striking an officer. McGrew and the other rioters gained access to the tunnel after pushing through more officers, but they were pushed out by 4:20 p.m., according to the release.
McGrew was arrested in Arizona on May 21, 2021, and he pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impending officers on May 13, 2022.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered 36 months of supervised release, a $5,000 fine and $2,000 in restitution.
McGrew was arrested on May 28, 2021, in Glendale, Arizona.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, with assistance by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of California and the District of Arizona.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Diego and Phoenix Field Offices., with assistance from the FBI’s Washington field office, Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
More than 950 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states since the attack on the Capitol two years ago.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 10:57 AM.
