On February 16, 2024, a Florida man was sentenced to prison on two felony charges linked to his involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Daniel Paul Gray, 43, from Jacksonville, Florida, received a 30-month prison term, 36 months of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. Gray had previously pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers on October 25, 2023.
Court documents revealed that Gray, a former Mixed Martial Arts instructor and bartender, had been actively expressing his distrust of the 2020 presidential election results and his desire to prevent President Joseph Biden Jr. from assuming office on social media leading up to January 6, 2021.
On January 6, 2021, Gray attended a rally at the Ellipse before making his way to a restricted area of the Capitol building. He was present when the police line fell on the west side of the Capitol and followed police as they retreated. Gray entered the Capitol through the Upper West Terrace doors and engaged in confrontations with law enforcement officers attempting to prevent rioters from entering the Rotunda.
Body-worn camera footage captured Gray shoving an officer, causing the officer to fall down a marble staircase and suffer a concussion and chronic back pain. Gray later boasted about his actions in a video posted to his Instagram account and in social media messages.
Gray was arrested by the FBI on May 18, 2021, in Jacksonville, Florida.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The FBI’s Jacksonville and Washington Field Offices investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Since January 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 469 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.
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