CLEVELAND, Ohio — A federal judge sentenced 23-year-old Cliff Mackrell of Wellington to 27 months in prison tied to his actions on January 6, 2021.
Mackrell and his father, Michael, both traveled to Washington D.C. from Northeast Ohio, and both pled guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers during the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.
According to releases from the U.S. Department of Justice, the father and son duo marched to the Capitol around 2:30 p.m. following the speeches, positioning themselves in the front line of the rioters. They both engaged in assaulting law enforcement officers from both the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police departments.
Images of the siege released by the FBI identified Cliff Mackrell, who was 19 years old at the time, as the individual who allegedly pushed back barricades near the Capitol entrance and was later seen striking a U.S. Capitol officer and grabbing his mask.
On the day of the Capitol riot, an FBI warrant shows Mackrell wrote on Facebook, “hey libtards and conservatives let’s stop fighting for a minute so I was thinking you libtards think the government was corrupt in 2016 right well I’ve thought they were corrupted for a very long time now how about we get rid of all of them because well it is out literal job as american’s to kill the tyrannical government. Also f*** all news stations.”
In March of 2021, Cliff Mackrell was arrested on multiple federal charges, including forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with certain officers or employees; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, according to the criminal complaint filed in the United State District Court.
While Cliff was arrested at his father's home in March of 2021, his father, Michael, was not arrested until two years later.
In a letter to the judge before sentencing, Cliff Mackrell said in part: “I am filled with remorse and regret causing harm to law enforcement officers…Please know that I am deeply ashamed of my actions and am committed to learning from this experience and making better choices in the future.”
RELATED: Lorain man arrested by FBI for allegedly assaulting police officer during siege of US Capitol
According to the Department of Justice, more than 50 people in Ohio have been arrested so far in connection to the insurrection on Jan. 6.
A lot of these arrests came from anonymous tips, and there are still hundreds of unidentified individuals captured in photos and videos from Jan. 6.
You can browse those images by clicking here.
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