In addition, he was sentenced for a pair of misdemeanor charges: Six months in prison for disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and aiding and abetting in committing an act of violence in the Capitol building or grounds.
Both sentences will run concurrently.
Federal Judge Trevor N. McFadden also ordered 24 months of supervised release. A decision on restitution is pending, the DOJ said.
“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election,” the DOJ said.
The department said Mehaffie and his co-defendants — Patrick E. McCaughey III, of Ridgefield, Conn. and Tristan Chandler Stevens, of Pensacola, Fla. — were found guilty on Sept. 13, 2022, following a bench trial before McFadden.
According to the government, Mehaffie, McCaughey, and Stevens, traveled together to Washington, D.C., and illegally made their way to restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
“McCaughey and Stevens taunted officers at the West Front, and Mehaffie yelled at nearby rioters who were hesitating to illegally cross the outer perimeter, ‘If we can’t fight over this wall, we can’t win this battle,’” the department said.
The three defendants broke through the police line at about 2:30 p.m.
Each of the defendants scaled the Southwest scaffolding and staircase, to converge together at the tunnel created by the inaugural platform structure on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building.
According to the government, at the Lower West Terrace, officers of the U.S. Capitol police and Metropolitan Police Department guarded the entrance door to the Capitol for several hours. Between 2:41 p.m. and 3:19 p.m., the three defendants attempted to break into the building by directing other rioters, participating in heave-hos against the police line, using riot shields stolen from the Capitol Police, and assaulting three specific officers, the DOJ said.
“Mehaffie hung from an archway and shouted direction from above, and McCaughey and Stevens were key players in the melee below,” the DOJ said. “McCaughey grabbed a riot shield and used it as a weapon. Even after officers finally cleared the tunnel area, the three defendants illegally remained on Capitol grounds.”
Mehaffie was arrested Aug. 12, 2021, in Kettering.
He was one of more than 10 people from the Dayton area who were charged in connection with the events at the Capital that day.
Others who were charged from the area include Jessica Watkins and Donovan Crowl of Champaign County; Bennie and Sandra Parker of Warren County; Stephanie and Brandon Miller of Bradford; Timothy Hart of Huber Heights; Therese Borgerding of Piqua; Walter Messer of Englewood; Terry Lindsey of Piqua; and Jared Samuel Kastner of Beavercreek.
In the 25 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 985 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach, including some 319 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the DOJ said.
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