WASHINGTON – Thomas Robertson, a former Rocky Mount officer, was sentenced on Thursday in federal court for his involvement in the capitol riots on Jan. 6.
Robertson was sentenced to 87 months in prison and will get credit for the 12 months that he has already served. He will also be under 36 months of unsupervised release.
Robertson was found guilty of the following on April 11:
- Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting
- Civil disorder and aiding and abetting
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
- Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting
Robertson must also participate in a mental health treatment program and pay a $100 special assessment fee for each count of conviction.
The judge said it was Robertson’s post-arrest conduct that concerned him.
“I read this stuff and it seems like you really think of partisan politics as war... I sincerely believe you would answer a call to duty if something like this were to happen again,” said Judge Cooper.
The main event that the judge referenced when discussing Robertson’s post-arrest behavior was what he did after being released intially, including when a loaded M4 rifle, a partially-assembled pipe bomb and several spam cans of ammunition and two boxes of 7.62 ammunition were seized from his property in June of last year.
The judge also compared his case to that of Guy Reffitt, who received the longest sentence tied to the riots.
In a memorandum filed by the US government on Aug. 4, the federal government asked that Robertson be sentenced to 96 months with three years of supervised release, $2,000 in restitution and the mandatory $100 special assessment for each count of conviction.