A Marine involved in storming the U.S. Capitol and allegedly making a Nazi salute outside the building has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison. Tyler Bradley Dykes, an active-duty Marine at the time of the incident, seized a police riot shield and used it to breach police lines during the mob attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.
Dykes, 26, pleaded guilty to assault charges in April, and had a prior conviction related to the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Transferred to federal custody in 2023 after serving a six-month state prison sentence, Dykes received a sentence of four years and nine months from U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell.
Federal prosecutors had recommended a prison term of five years and three months for Dykes, emphasizing his direct involvement in the violent events at the Capitol. Despite Dykes’ lawyers requesting a two-year sentence and acknowledging his actions as illegal and intolerable, the judge opted for a longer imprisonment.
Dykes was part of the “Stop the Steal” rally in D.C., where he separated from his friends, tore down fencing, and breached police lines to access the Capitol. He was witnessed performing what appeared to be a Sieg Heil salute after forcing his way inside the building using the stolen riot shield to assault officers, before later returning it.
Photographic evidence from the 2017 rally in Charlottesville showed Dykes participating in a march with white supremacists, making Nazi salutes. Subsequently, Dykes admitted guilt to a felony charge related to that event. Discharged from the Marine Corps in 2023, Dykes’ actions on January 6 were deemed a betrayal of his oath to uphold the Constitution, according to prosecutors.
With over 1,400 people facing federal charges linked to the Capitol riot, more than 900 have been sentenced, ranging from a few days to 22 years in prison.
