Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of at least nearly four years for a Fleetwood man who pleaded guilty this summer to using a stun gun against police officers and assaulting a member of the news media during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss is scheduled to sentence Alan Byerly on Oct. 21.
Byerly pleaded guilty in July to one count of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and one count of striking, beating and wounding on federal property.
Those were two of the eight counts with which he was originally charged. The plea was part of a deal with prosecutors.
Sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term ranging from 37 to 46 months. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Byerly’s attorney has until Friday to submit a sentencing recommendation.
In the sentencing memorandum filed Sunday by prosecutors, they explained the reasoning behind requesting a stiff sentence: “… because Byerly committed three separate assaults on January 6, 2021, two against different police officers at different times and places, and one against a news reporter. His stipulated guidelines range, however, is no higher than it would have been had committed only a single assault. A sentence at least at the top of the stipulated guidelines range would adequately take into account all three assaults.”
The judge isn’t bound by any of the sentencing recommendations.
Byerly has been in federal custody since being charged in July 2021.
In September 2021 he pleaded not guilty to the charges he was facing.
He was offered a federal plea deal but turned it down in November, planning to head to trial. That trial never happened. Instead, Byerly changed his mind and accepted the government’s plea deal.
The case
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington:
Byerly was among a crowd of rioters who gathered near a line of bicycle racks set up by police to keep the crowd at bay.
Video shows Byerly just behind the bike racks holding what appears to be a stun gun, which he raises with his right hand and activates. Byerly charges at police, some of whom can be heard yelling, “Taser! Taser! Taser!” to warn their fellow officers.
Within seconds, the officers were able to knock the stun gun out of Byerly’s hands. But he kept charging, striking and pushing officers. At one point he tried to take a baton from an officer, knocking that officer to the ground in the process.
Officers were eventually able to restrain Byerly. However, he was able to escape with the help of a fellow rioter.
The attack on police officers was the second assault in which Byerly was involved that day.
Earlier that afternoon, Byerly was caught on footage posted by media outlets. It showed him joining the assault of an Associated Press photographer who was pulled down a flight of stairs, pushed to the ground and dragged toward a mob of protesters.
Source: Berkshire mont
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