Capitol rioter rejected plea deal — now has to spend an extra two years in jail

Vincent Gillespie, a convicted Capitol rioter hailing from Athol, Massachusetts, received a prison sentence on Friday that was higher than the one he would have received had he not rejected an earlier plea deal.

As noted by NBC News' Ryan J. Reilly, the 61-year-old Gillespie received a 68-month prison sentence that is nearly two years longer than the sentence he might have served under his plea deal, which sought a sentence of between 41 and 51 months.

Gillespie late last year was found guilty on charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

According to DOJ charges, Gillespie "engaged in pushing, shoving, yelling, and fighting with law enforcement officers" during the riot and at one point he "gained control of a police shield and used it to ram the police."

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After the riots, Gillespie boasted that he and his fellow rioters were "very close" to overpowering police and completely taking over the Capitol.

"That’s what I would hope they would do," he said. "Take it over, take it over. Own it for a few days. I'm not an anarchist, but you can't let this stand what happened in this election."