Florida man sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for role in Capitol riot

Capitol rioter from Largo sentenced to 5 years

Gloria Gomez reports

WASHINGTON - A Largo, Florida man who pleaded guilty to participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to 63 months in prison.

It's the longest prison sentence yet for a participant in the insurrection.

Robert Palmer was caught on video spraying Capitol police with a fire extinguisher and then throwing the canister at them.

The 54-year-old wore an American flag jacket that said "Florida for Trump" to the Capitol, and images of him were splashed across the pages of the New York Post.

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He later made more national headlines when he spoke to reporters from Huffington Post, denying doing anything wrong that day and blaming the Biden administration for going after "patriots" like him.

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In a handwritten letter, Robert Palmer said he now realizes that former President Trump lied about the election results, writing, "little did I realize that they were the tyrannical ones desperate to hold on to power at any cost."

He later started a donation website to help with his defense, calling himself a "proud American patriot who went to DC to support our president and to witness the overturn of the election."

But 11 months later, his attorney said he had a change of heart, telling a judge his client is "remorseful" for his actions.

Palmer pleaded guilty to assault charges back in October. Prosecutors asked for 63 months, or over 5 years, in federal prison. Palmer's attorneys asked for two years.

On Friday afternoon, a Washington, D.C. judge agreed with prosecutors' recommendations, and sentenced Palmer to 63 months.