The First To Break In

Inside the Role of Michael Sparks and the Continuing Fight for Accountability After January 6

Michael Sparks isn’t famous, but you may have seen him on TV in reports about the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In one video, a bearded member of the Proud Boys gang named Dominic Pezzola smashes a window with a stolen police riot shield. When he steps away, Sparks climbs through, becoming the first insurrectionist to enter the building.

In another video, Sparks is among a group of rioters chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up flights of stairs on the Senate side of the building. When a few officers arrive to assist Goodman, Sparks shouts, “This is our America!”

The scenes in which Sparks played a key role are not the most grotesque from that day, but they do capture the very beginning of the mob takeover. For this reason, they will resonate through history. The videos were crucial to Sparks’ prosecution, one of the most symbolic criminal cases arising from the attack. Just days ago, Sparks was sentenced to four years and four months in prison for two felonies and several misdemeanors he committed on January 6.

Three years and eight months after the Capitol attack, federal prosecutors are still holding members of the mob accountable. To date, roughly 1,200 people have been charged, and more than 700 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Some, like Pezzola—who received a ten-year sentence—will be in prison for a long time. Others were sentenced to probation. Collectively, these cases indicate that justice is being served.

To understand the importance of the federal investigations and prosecutions, it helps to review what happened before and during the attack. As you may recall, then-President Donald Trump called upon his supporters to come to Washington on the day Congress was to certify his defeat in the 2020 election, promising it “will be wild.”

When the day came, some who were prepared to use force arrived with guns, tasers, baseball bats, chemical spray, brass knuckles, and other weapons. They stood among a crowd of roughly 25,000, listening to Trump and others urge them to march on the Capitol and, in Rudy Giuliani’s words, “wage trial by combat.” This is exactly what happened as thousands fought Capitol police, took over the building, and attempted a coup by trying to overturn the election results by force. Before it was over, more than 140 police officers would be injured. One would die from strokes he suffered during the fight, and four would later commit suicide. Both houses of Congress were driven from the building just as they were beginning the process of certifying the vote. The building itself suffered more than $2 million in damage. Never before had our country faced such a crisis. Never was there a greater need for the punishment and deterrence that the justice system can deliver.

With Trump and the Republican Party preparing to contest the results of the upcoming election, it’s essential that his followers understand that police, prosecutors, and judges are capable of identifying and pursuing hundreds, if not thousands, who might attempt a repeat of January 6. The challenge here will be reaching these "rioters-in-waiting," many of whom avoid mainstream news sources and rely on rabidly pro-Trump outlets like Fox News, NewsMax, and internet conspiracy theory sites.

Who is vulnerable to stolen-election theories? According to a study of the rioters done by Seton Hall University, they are overwhelmingly white men, around 40 years old. Many had been convicted of prior crimes, and roughly 20 percent had significant financial problems, including bankruptcy and evictions. In other words, a significant number of the attackers came from a group of middle-aged white men who have struggled in the modern economy and believe they have lost opportunities as the world passed them by. As a result, they feel a sense of grievance that drives them to extremes.

How extreme are these men? Sparks provided an answer at his sentencing, telling the judge that he still believes the 2020 election “was taken from the American public” and that his only regret is that in seizing the Capitol, the insurrectionists “did not change anything.”

Preventing a repeat of January 6 will require not just deterrence, but a concerted government effort to bring jobs and training to those on the margins of the economy. However, this will take many years. In the meantime, we can use our voices, donations, and Election Day votes to defeat Trump in such a resounding way that the message reaches even his most fervent followers.