WASHINGTON (AP) — A Connecticut business owner who has served as an elected alderman in his hometown was sentenced Wednesday to 10 days behind bars for joining a mob’s assault on the U.S. Capitol over three years ago, court records show.
Chief Judge James Boasberg also ordered Gene DiGiovanni Jr. to perform 50 hours of community service for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, according to a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.
DiGiovanni, of Derby, Connecticut, attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House before marching to the Capitol and entering the building through the Upper West Terrace door. He remained inside the Capitol for roughly 22 minutes.
“After exiting the building, DiGiovanni did not leave the grounds but remained on the East Front steps where he celebrated, raising his arm in the air,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
DiGiovanni pleaded guilty in January to entering or remaining within a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison.
Prosecutors had recommended sentencing DiGiovanni to 30 days of imprisonment. Defense attorney Martin Minnella asked for no jail time.
“As Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.’ This is what Mr. DiGiovanni has endured since the outset of this case,” Minnella wrote.
DiGiovanni “was merely a follower and did not intent to participate in any so-called insurrection,” Minnella said in a statement after Wednesday’s sentencing.
“On behalf of Mr. DiGiovanni and his family, we are all grateful that this dark chapter in his life is now over,” the lawyer added.
DiGiovanni is a contractor who owns a construction business. He has served as an alderman in Derby and ran for mayor of the city after the Capitol riot.
More than 1,350 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 800 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
