A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a Hoffman Estates man to six days in prison for grabbing a police baton as officers tried to clear the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the building.
Tyng-Jing Yang, 61, pleaded guilty in September to civil disorder and was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Senior Judge John Bates, who also gave Yang two years of probation. Ahead of his sentencing, Yang told the judge he “got emotional” and “made the wrong call” by following people into the Capitol that day.
Yang is among more than 40 Illinois residents who have faced federal criminal charges as a result of the riot at the Capitol, which sparked a massive ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors say Yang entered the Capitol at 2:45 p.m. through the upper west terrace door, less than a minute after a group of police officers retreated from defending it, and then he made his way to the Rotunda.
Meanwhile, officers formed a line to force rioters like Yang out of the Rotunda. The feds say Yang refused to leave. Instead, Yang and another man moved toward the line, and Yang was involved in several confrontations with police, records show.
Prosecutors say Yang at one point grabbed an officer’s wrist. Eventually, he also grabbed an officer’s baton as the officer used it to push Yang’s companion.
The officer broke Yang’s grip on the baton, and Yang ultimately left the building at 3:15 p.m., records show.
In a letter to the judge ahead of his sentencing hearing, Yang explained he is a first-generation immigrant and “grateful to be accepted as a U.S. citizen.” He said he has worked for Motorola since 2000.
“Being a computer geek with guilt of not doing anything for the past 20 years besides typing on the keyboard, I decided to fly to DC to show my support peacefully and patriotically,” Yang wrote. “Even though I was cautious not to be near unlawful or violent activities. In the end I got emotional and made the wrong call by following the crowd and walked into the capitol building.”
