James Robert Elliott pleaded guilty to assaulting a capitol police officer with a flagpole
An Aurora man was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
James Robert Elliott, who court records state was 23 years old at the time of the attack, was sentenced Thursday in a federal courtroom in Washington D.C. to 37 months in prison and two years of supervised released after pleading guilty to assaulting a Capitol police officer with a flagpole.
Video of Elliott from January 6th – posted to a crowdsourced website – shows him wearing all black, and spiked, hard-knuckled gloves and shouting “forward!” as he weaved his way through the crowd of people gathered outside the Capitol.
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In federal court records, prosecutors described Elliott as member of the Northern Illinois Proud Boys, who on that day were among the throngs of people who disrupted Congress and attempted to interfere with the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to current President Joe Biden.
In court records, prosecutors noted that Elliott “over and over again... foisted his flagpole yelling “Patriots what is your occupation?” -- a reference to the war movie "300," which depicts acts of violence between Spartans and Persians.
Prosecutors, in court records, said Elliott seemed to view himself "as the star of a war movie" and went on to describe his actions as a serious crime.
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors described the following events:
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"Shortly before 1:40 p.m., rioters tried to drag away a bicycle rack that officers were using
as a police line. The officers pulled back, and a tug-of-war began. Elliott, who was near the bicycle
rack, swung his flagpole at the officers’ heads, striking U.S. Capitol Police Officer J.W. He then
straightened the pole and thrust it forward across the police line again."
After the attack, prosecutors allege Elliott rose in rank in the Proud Boys and reportedly told a contact: “I bonked two cops… never thought I’d say that.”
Elliott’s defense team, however, argued the Aurora tow truck driver should be sentenced to probation because he had no criminal history and has accepted responsibility for his actions.
His attorney described him as a young, naïve man who got “caught in the up in the moment of Jan. 6."
In a letter to the judge, Elliott himself wrote: “…it was never my intention to hurt anyone and the fact that I may have done just that in the heat of the moment brings no end of shame and regret to me. I apologize and humbly ask the officer for forgiveness (sic).”
He also wrote that he has since “left the Proud Boys and I’m doing my best to continue to move my life in a positive direction” adding that a lengthy prison would create a hardship on his family – adding this is father is battling an illness and he worried about the well-being of his wife and 4-year old twins if he were given a lengthy prison term.
His grandfather and co-worker also wrote the judge letters of support.
More than 1,000 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states and D.C. for the alleged roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Elliott is now one of 310 people sent to prison for their activity that day and one of 34 from Illinois charged, according to the Department of Justice.
On Thursday, NBC 5 Investigates left two messages and emailed Elliott’s attorney seeking a comment. We haven’t heard back yet.
