Bruno Cua, Who Was 18 When He Stormed U.S. Capitol On January 6, Sentenced To One Year In Prison

Bruno Joseph Cua, a high school student who participated in the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to one year in prison.

Cua was 18 when a group of Donald Trump allies stormed the Capitol to protest the results of the 2020 election. He assaulted a police officer and proceeded to sit in a Senate floor chair that was reserved for former Vice President Mike Pence.

Prior to the insurrection, Cua had filled his social media account with posts about the need to attack the Capitol and engage in violent acts, unless Congress agreed to overturn the election.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said that he was considering Cua’s “youth and immaturity” as a factor in his decision to join the mob. Federal prosecutors initially sought more than four years in federal prison, though Moss lowered his sentence.

Cua, now 21, apologized for his actions and told Moss that he regrets his role in the rioters’ “attack on democracy.” In a letter to the judge, Cua admitted that he was “horrified” by the statements he made on social media.

“I am in shock I wrote those things and decided it was acceptable to post them or send them in messages to other people,” he wrote. “It’s painful and embarrassing. What I said doesn’t even align with my faith. It’s so backward and twisted from how I’m called to act as a Christian.”

More than 1,000 people have been arrested for their involvement in the events that took place on January 6.