Florida man sentenced to 3 years in prison for assaulting police on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — A Florida man was sentenced to more than three years in prison Tuesday for assaulting police during the Capitol riot.

Raymund Cholod, 54, of Tampa, accepted a plea deal in February for one felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding police. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop multiple additional felony counts, including a second count of assault and a more serious version of the charge for using a deadly or dangerous weapon that likely would have resulted in him being sent immediately to prison following his plea.

As part of the plea deal, Cholod admitted he was among the first group of rioters to enter the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where the mob engaged in some of the most serious and prolonged acts of violence against police that day. While in the area, Cholod admitted he joined other rioters in pushing against the police line, grabbed a U.S. Capitol Police officer’s riot shield and threw a long, solid stick toward the mouth of the tunnel where police were standing. Cholod acknowledged the stick was both capable of causing serious bodily injury and that he “threw it with the intent to commit bodily injury.”

Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 55 months, or roughly 4.75 years, in prison for Cholod. In a sentencing memo filed last month, they argued he had failed to live up to a portion of his plea agreement that required him to clearly demonstrate acceptance of responsibility. 

During a post-plea interview in May, prosecutors said Cholod blamed police for the violence and claimed Ray Epps, another Jan. 6 defendant who became the target of right-wing conspiracy theories, instigated the riot.

“He claimed that the crowd at the West Plaza was peaceful until the police began to use munitions against the crowd. He also claimed that Ray Epps, another January 6 defendant, had instigated the riot on the West Plaza,” prosecutors wrote. “When asked about his conduct at the police line inside the tunnel, Cholod claimed that he was merely defending himself against the police who attacked him and others with ‘billy clubs’ and that he merely rested his hand on a shield but did not otherwise attack the police. At this point, the interview was terminated.”

Cholod’s attorney, Allen Orenburg, said in his own sentencing memo that his client was truthful during his post-plea interview and admitted all of his relevant conduct.

“He did not willfully or intentionally attempt to minimize his actions on January 6th,” Orenburg wrote. “Based on his personal recollection, he was explaining to the government the circumstances surrounding his actions on January 6, 2021.”

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Cholod to 40 months, or roughly 3.3 years, in prison. The sentence falls within the middle of the recommended guideline range of 37-46 months anticipated by Cholod's plea deal. 

In the 41 months since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, more than 1,400 people have been charged with crimes ranging from entering a restricted area to seditious conspiracy. More than 1,000 defendants have now pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.