Jan. 6 Riots Guilty Plea Nets Sentence For Ocean County Man

WASHINGTON, DC — A Toms River man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Salvatore Vassallo, 60, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers on May 11, Justice Department officials said. The riot disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Vassallo was identified in photos from the riots and video from police officers' bodyworn cameras, according to court documents. He illegally entered the Capitol grounds, hopped over a rail and joined a mob that was confronting law enforcement officers on the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol, near the Senate Wing Door and the Senate Fire Door, according to court documents.

At 4:26 p.m., Vassallo emerged from the crowd and faced a line of police officers. Several seconds later, he abruptly charged at an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department who was in the process of assisting other officers. Vassallo grabbed and pushed the officer with what appeared to be a significant amount of force. Moments later, he left that area, according to the court documents.

The photos later were shown to a former neighbor of Vassallo, who positively identified Vassallo as the man in the photos, the document said. Vassallo was arrested in September 2022.

Vassallo was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release, officials said.

More than 1,100 people have been charged in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 398 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

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