WASHINGTON — A Knoxville was sentenced to four months in prison followed by two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to pushing against a police line and helping disarm police officers during the Jan. 6 Insurrection.
Michael Asbury, 44, will also need to spend four months in home detention during his supervised release period and pay $2,000 in restitution, according to a release from the Department of Justice. It said he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder.
Asbury was arrested in June 2023 in Lenoir City. He faced several charges, ranging from civil disorder to engaging in violence at the U.S. Capitol. Originally, the FBI said he told them he did not get closer than 15 feet from the building but saw violence against law enforcement while participating in the pro-Trump rally.
However, the FBI said videos showed him cursing at law enforcement and said he was seen in the Lower West Terrace area of the building. Authorities said he moved into a tunnel defended by police officers during the Jan. 6 Insurrection, helping push against a police line and forming a "heave-ho" effort against law enforcement.
He was also accused of helping disarm a riot shield from law enforcement, throwing the shield at the crowd behind him near the tunnel. Other rioters then began disarming police, according to FBI documents. Later, he was also accused of passing a device resembling a functional stun gun out of the tunnel to another man.
Police began spraying down the crowd with OC spray and court documents said he moved away from the tunnel. However, he was accused of later returning to the tunnel and participating in another "heave-ho" effort.
He was arrested in Lenoir City on June 28, 2023.