A Long Island man was sentenced for his role in assaulting law enforcement and other felonies related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in 2021, prosecutors announced Thursday.
26-year-old Greg Rubenacker, of Farmingdale, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2022 to charges including assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding, and committing an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds. He was sentenced in Washington, D.C. to 41 months in prison.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021 Rubenacker engaged in a series of confrontations with law enforcement officers inside the Capitol Building. At 2:13 p.m., he entered the building through the Senate Wing Door and recorded a video in which he stated, “This is history! We took the Capitol.” He was also in a crowd that was yelling “where are they counting the votes” and eventually chased a U.S. Capitol Police officer securing the area.
Rubenacker left the building at 2:21 p.m., but came back in through the Rotunda Door 21 minutes later. While he was in the Rotunda, Rubenacker smoked marijuana while recording a video that he later posted to social media with the caption “Smoke out the Capitol, baby.” Rubenacker was among several people who resisted officers attempting to remove individuals from the Rotunda.
At 3:08 p.m., Rubenacker swung a plastic bottle at an officer’s head and then sprayed water from his bottle across law enforcement officers engaging with other individuals. Law enforcement officers pepper-sprayed the crowd, including Rubenacker, who exited the Capitol at 3:20 p.m. Rubenacker was arrested and charged on Feb. 9, 2021 in Farmingdale.
Following his prison term, Rubenacker will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.
In the 16 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 250 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
