Shelbyville man gets 5 years prison for Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (WISH) — A federal judge has sentenced a Shelbyville man to five years in a federal prison for his actions during the Capitol riot.

Mark Mazza pleaded guilty in June to carrying a firearm and assaulting a police officer on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

It’s the longest prison sentence handed down so far for any Indiana resident convicted in the Capitol violence.

Federal authorities accused Mazza of carrying a Taurus revolver inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, as Congress was meeting to certify the 2020 Presidential election results.

Investigators believe Mazza joined a group of rioters trying to enter the Capitol, and held open a door to allow other members of the group to attack police officers with batons, flag poles, and stolen law enforcement shields.

Video also showed Mazza taking a baton from an officer’s hand and using it to swing at police in a tunnel entrance.

The video also showed Mazza yelling, “This is our f—— house! We own this house!”

Federal agents claimed Mazza dropped his revolver, which was loaded with three shotgun shells and two hollow point bullets, on the Capitol grounds, and that he later filed a false police report claiming it was stolen.