WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — A Maine man who unsuccessfully ran for state Senate was sentenced to 15 months in prison for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Matthew Brackley, 40, of Waldoboro, entered the Capitol trying to find Nancy Pelosi's office and pushed past officers attempting to enter the Senate chamber, according to federal prosecutors. He also shouted expletives targeting Mitch McConnell and chanted "USA" before being forced to retreat from the building by chemical spray deployed by officers, prosecutors said.
Brackley was also sentenced to 24 months supervised release and ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and restitution. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.
In 2022, Brackley, formerly of West Bath, ran as a Republican for state Senate District 24. He lost to Eloise Vitelli, the Democratic incumbent, by a vote count of 12,620 to 9,123.
Prosecutors said in the Capitol, two officers encountered Brackley and told him to back up.
"One officer gave him a small push backward," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement. "Brackley, however, did not retreat and asked where Pelosi's office was as others behind him shouted obscenities. After about 40 seconds of conversation with the officers, Brackley turned to the crowd behind him and shouted, 'Let's go!' He then leaned forward and, with both elbows extended outward, pushed through the two officers, leading the crowd behind him further into the hallway towards the Senate Chamber.
Brackley's progress was stopped when a larger group of officers dressed in riot gear entered the hallway from the opposite end and halted the crowd. A police line formed as the rioters pushed against the officers, who tried to back the crowd away from the Senate Chamber. A standstill then ensued between the rioters and USCP officers in the hallway, and Brackley stood among the crowd as others shouted expletives directed at Members of Congress."
Soon after, Brackley retreated due to the chemical spray deployment, prosecutors said.