Wellington man going to prison for more than 2 years for taking part in Jan. 6 insurrection

A Wellington man was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Michael Mackrell, 42, received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, a felony, in October. He also was ordered to spend one year on supervised release. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, according to federal court records, Mackrell assaulted local and federal police officers during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This disrupted a joint session of Congress that was meant to count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release that Michael Mackrell and son Clifford Mackrell traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in former President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse. Michael Mackrell wore a camouflage jacket, an earth-tone camouflage baseball cap-style hat, green gloves, and black pants. He also carried a green backpack, walked with a dark-colored cane, and used an American flag gaiter to cover his mouth and nose, according to federal prosecutors. He and his son then went from the Trump rally to the Capitol, where they pushed back police barricades and illegally entered a restricted area of Capitol grounds, federal authorities said. They were carrying gas masks, bandanas, gloves and backpacks, authorities said. Once there, both Mackrells assaulted police officers forming a protective barrier. Michael Mackrell "wrapped his arm around the neck of a U.S. Capitol Police officer and threw the officer to the ground," according to federal prosecutors, then pushed a Metropolitan Police Department officer trying to hold the line against the rioters. Michael Mackrell also tackled three more police officers, and he and his son pushed another officer to the ground to help other rioters. He was arrested in Ohio in March 2023. Michael Mackrell's sentence was identical to the one given his son, Clifford Mackrell, who was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution on March 5. Clifford Mackrell pleaded guilty in October to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers in U.S. District Court in Washington. Federal prosecutors said Clifford Mackrell tried to gouge out a police officer's eyes on Jan. 6, hit and pushed officers and tried to pull a gas mask off one of them. The FBI's Cleveland and Washington field offices investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. Investigations remain ongoing into the Jan. 6 insurrection. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.