Texas man who knocked out officer during Jan 6. Capitol riot learns his sentence

FORT WORTH, Texas – A North Texas man was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison Friday for assaulting law enforcement resulting in bodily injury during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia announced.

“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election,” the U.S attorney’s office said in a news release.

Donald Hazard, 44, of Hurst, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.

Hazard pleaded guilty to the charge Feb. 16.

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss ordered 36 months of supervised release. Hazard also must pay a fine of $2,000.

According to court documents, Hazard was the sergeant-at-arms of the Patriot Boys of North Texas, a self-described militia.

In preparation for the riot in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, Hazard gathered protective gear and other supplies including a military-style helmet, knuckle gloves, goggles, body armor and pepper spray, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

“Make sure you get my face and everything on your news channel. I want the enemy to know exactly who is coming after them,” Hazard said in a video that a photographer recorded at the riot.

At around 2 p.m. that day, Hazard was standing under scaffolding that had been erected over the stairs on the northwest side of the U.S. Capitol building. As Hazard and other rioters attempted to climb the steps, they were met by Capitol Police officers.

An officer approached Hazard in order to force him back. Hazard grabbed the officer as he fell and continued to fight. The two fell down the stairs and the officer hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He also had injuries on his head, foot and arm – some of which required surgery.

At another point during the riot, Hazard advanced toward a line of police officers on the west side of the Capitol with pepper spray in his hand.

At 2:56 p.m., Hazard entered the Capitol building and was inside for about five minutes. Hazard posted “selfie-style” videos inside and outside of the Capitol building and made statements including, “We’re here at the nation’s capitol and we’re storming it. We’re taking the Capitol … This is America, baby.”

Hazard was arrested Dec. 13, 2021.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas assisted in the case.

The case was investigated by the Fort Worth Resident Agency of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office along with the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Hurst Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police also assisted.

In the 28 months since Jan. 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

The investigation remains ongoing.