From the Department of Justice today:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Felony and Other Charges for Offenses Committed During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
Defendant, Dressed Like Caveman, Stole Police Vest and Riot Shield
WASHINGTON – A New York man pleaded guilty today to charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Aaron Mostofsky, 35, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder and misdemeanor charges of theft of government property and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
According to court documents, Mostofsky – dressed as a caveman and carrying a walking stick or rod – was among the crowd gathered at 12:55 p.m. Jan. 6 as rioters overwhelmed a police perimeter stationed near the Peace Circle, due west of the Capitol building. He and other rioters then reached the West Plaza. At about 1:35 p.m., he joined a group of rioters pushing against a police line that was attempting to limit the crowd’s access to the Capitol. Mostofsky used his weight and strength in the effort to break the police line. At about 2:09 p.m., he climbed exterior stairs to the Capitol’s Upper West Terrace, heading to the Senate Wing Door.
Enroute, he picked up a U.S. Capitol Police bullet-proof vest and donned it. Minutes later, the crowd broke windows next to the Senate Wing Door, entered the Capitol, and broke the door open from inside the building. Mostofsky entered through the door at 2:13 p.m., about the 12th person to get inside that way. He quickly picked up a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield that had been set aside by another rioter. He followed the crowd to a staircase, where they pursued a U.S. Capitol Police Officer upstairs and into the Ohio Clock Corridor, just outside the Senate Chamber. At approximately 2:36 p.m., after giving an interview to a reporter, Mostofsky left the building, taking the police vest and riot shield with him. He was stripped of the shield by a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
It gets better:
The man, 35-year-old Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a New York judge, also pleaded guilty in federal district court in Washington, D.C., to misdemeanor charges of stealing government property and entering and remaining in a restricted building, the Justice Department said in a press release.
He faces a maximum sentence of five years behind bars and a hefty fine for the felony charge alone, the DOJ said, though his final sentence may be lower. Mostofsky’s plea agreement notes that his lawyer and prosecutors agree that federal sentencing guidelines would recommend he get a prison term within the range of one year to 18 months.
That’s about all he will get. One year to 18 months. Why do I feel his father’s position played a role in getting his caveman son out of more serious trouble?
As for his reason for the caveman outfit:
He was dressed as a caveman and carrying a walking stick, explaining to a friend at one point that “the fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election was so obvious, even a caveman would know the election was stolen,” the DOJ said.
More fuckin’ cosplay.