Dozens of members of the Capitol Police witnessed Cutter’s sentencing and were present at the four-hour hearing. Among them: Carolyn Edwards, who was sprayed by Gadder after Signic. Edwards gave a courtroom statement saying she felt “survivor’s guilt” because she was unable to help Cygnik because she was also on disability. Signik’s family members, including his longtime partner Sandra Garza, gave scathing accounts of the impact they had on Qatar.
A medical examiner found Chignik’s death to be of natural causes — Jan. 6 In the evening he suffered two strokes, as a result of which he died the next day. But Chignik’s family has made it clear that, coupled with the stress of the riots, they hold Khader responsible for his death.
The investigation also exposed how a series of tactical attacks on Capitol Police officers early in the day’s riots contributed to the collapse of the police force and the destruction of the Capitol building.
Prosecutors showed footage showing the three officers wounded by Khader’s attack not only fled the outnumbered police line, but several others helped guide them to safety while blinded by the spray. Prosecutors showed a video of Chiknik walking alone on a Capitol terrace and struggling to regain vision and balance. As he sped away, other officers, beaten by the mob, joined him on the terrace, unable to return to action.
Five minutes after Kathryn’s spray attack, prosecutors noted, the police line collapsed and rioters reached the base of the Capitol.
Hogan’s January 6 sentence was one of the harshest sentences given to defendants — far more than Gadder’s, who already had 22 months in pretrial detention — but fell short of the 90 months sought by the government. Hogan attributed what Hogan described as a “disgrace” to what he described as inhumane conditions at the Washington, D.C., prison. The prison has been plagued by allegations of substandard living conditions and, in some cases, misconduct by correctional officers that have drawn reprimands from federal judges.
Hogan blamed Kader for refusing to apologize directly to Edwards or for the injuries he caused to Cygnik and others. He responded by saying that he followed the advice of his lawyers and did not apologize directly because he was recently hit with a civil suit related to his actions.
Kader’s codefendant, George Danios, was sentenced to five months in prison for his actions. He bought and carried the spray used by Khader but did not participate in the attacks.
