Capitol Rioter Sentenced To Prison Despite Lawyer's Claim His Brain Wasn't Fully Developed At The Time

As the January 6 Capitol rioters face prosecution for their roles in the attack on Capitol Hill, some are trying original defenses for their actions.

Leonard Pearson Ridge IV of Bucks County, Pennsylvania was 19 years old when he committed crimes that contributed to the injuries of 140 police officers, 5 deaths and over $1 million in damages.

The now 20-year-old has been sentenced to 14 days in prison.

Ridge’s sentence came despite a strange defense by his attorneys.

Defense counsel tried to claim Ridge’s brain wasn’t fully developed enough to take responsibility for the crimes he committed.

Ridge’s attorney, Carina Laguzzi, tried to get leniency from the judge by pointing to studies that the human brain isn’t fully developed until sometime in your mid-20s.

However, there was a mountain of evidence working against Ridge. The then 19-year-old was responsible for breaking open the doors of the offices of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Like many others, Ridge was surprised to receive jail time despite telling a friend on Snapchat he planned to help block the session of Congress.

The defense became less effective in light of this evidence.

U.S. District Judge John E. Boasberg said of Ridge’s defense:

“There are perhaps people who attended the rally who were swept up in the crowd, or swept up in the moment. But that is not true for you, given your previous statements.”

Ridge’s sentence included the 14 days of jail time previously mentioned, along with 1 year probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1000 fine.