A New York City judge’s son who wore a caveman costume and was among the Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 has been sentenced to eight months in prison.
Aaron Mostofsky, 35, was one of the first rioters to enter the restricted area around the Capitol according to prosecutors and wore a furry “caveman” costume.
US District Judge James Boasberg said Mostofsky was “literally on the front lines” of the mob’s attack.
“What you and others did on that day imposed an indelible stain on how our nation is perceived, both at home and abroad, and that can’t be undone”, the judge added.
Mostofsky has worked as an assistant architect in New York and his father, Steven Mostofsky, is a state court judge in Brooklyn.
Mostofsky was the first Capitol rioter to be sentenced for a civil disorder conviction.
Five people died and dozens were arrested after hundreds stormed the US Capitol in 2021 and more than 780 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot.
Mostofsky told a friend that the costume expressed his belief that “even a caveman” would know that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.
According to prosecutors, Mostofsky was among the first to breach the building itself and pushed against a police barrier and stole a Capitol Police bulletproof vest and riot shield.
Inside the building, he followed rioters who chased Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase toward the Senate chambers.
The judge also sentenced Mostofsky to one year of supervised release and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service and pay $2,000 in restitution.
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In response, Mostofsky said he was ashamed of his “contribution to the chaos of that day” adding that he feels “sorry for the officers that had to deal with that chaos”.
Justice Department prosecutor Michael Romano said the fact that Mostofsky is the son of a judge means “he should have been better able than other defendants to understand why the claims of election fraud were false”.
Mr Boasberg said none of the supportive letters submitted by Mostofsky’s family and friends explain how he “went down this rabbit hole of election fantasy.”
Aaron Mostofsky pleaded guilty in February to a felony charge of civil disorder and misdemeanour charges of theft of government property and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
Defence attorney Nicholas Smith described Mostofsky as a “spectator” who “drifted with the crowd” and didn’t go to the Capitol to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.