WASHINGTON — An Ohio man was sentenced on Wednesday to 71 months in federal prison for assaulting law enforcement officers with a Trump billboard and other offenses during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jonathan Joseph Copeland, 29, of Lima, Ohio, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $2,000 in restitution.
Copeland was convicted of six felonies, including assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, civil disorder, and entering restricted grounds with a deadly weapon, along with two misdemeanor charges. His actions were part of the mob’s disruption of Congress as it convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
According to court documents and trial testimony, Copeland traveled to Washington, D.C., attended rallies, and marched to the Capitol. After breaching barriers at the Peace Circle, he joined rioters in pushing a large, heavy metal sign with the word “TRUMP” into a police defensive line on the West Plaza. The sign’s sharp angles and weight posed a significant threat to officers, according to testimony from a Metropolitan Police Department officer.
Later, Copeland entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door and encouraged other rioters to join him. He traveled through several parts of the building, including the Crypt and the Capitol Visitor Center, before exiting through a window approximately 16 minutes later.
Copeland also confronted a photographer in the crowd, shoving him repeatedly before a group of rioters attacked the photographer and pushed him off a ledge.
Copeland was arrested in Fort Shawnee, Ohio, in August 2022. His case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
Since the January 6 breach, more than 1,561 individuals across the country have been charged, including over 590 with assaulting law enforcement officers. Investigations remain ongoing.