A 35-year-old North Carolina man was sentenced to more than three years in jail for attacking police officers and leading rioters during the Jan. 6 breach of the US Capitol.
Brett A jury convicted Alan Rotella, also known as Brett Ostrander, of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding specific officers, according to a press statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Rotella received a 38-month prison term, three years probation, and a $2,000 fine from U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. According to the FBI’s Statement of Facts document, Rotella stood out from the throng wearing a red skull cap and a sleeveless, black puffy jacket that exposed his highly tattooed arms while holding a pole with two flags on it.
Rotella visited the West Plaza of the United States Capitol shortly before 2:30 p.m., as Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence attempted to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory. He grabbed a metal police barrier and flung it at a cop, yelling ‘f—in’ tear gas us, I didn’t do sh-.” He additionally argued that “we just want things to be right” along with “something has to happen or we’re all f—ed.”
Minutes later, Rotella led a group of protesters in pursuing cops who were fleeing up the southwest stairs from West Plaza. Rotella would occasionally pause and yell “hold” while raising his fist, halting the rioters as they ran up the steps. He then led the crowd to the Inauguration stage. Rotella continued to walk while cops fired rubber bullets at his feet.
Officers stormed into the Capitol and closed two sets of doors in an attempt to keep the rioters at bay. But Trump fans broke past the first set of doors. They then cracked the glass on the second set of doors, and Rotella reached inside to open them, allowing one rioter to enter the building and begin battling cops. Others, including Rotella, joined. Prosecutors said he used his whole weight to push against the police line.
He yelled “you want to hit me?! I’ll f— you up, motherf—er!”
Rotella joined the mob in battling cops outside the west tunnel one hour after being booted out of the building. He cried “heave ho” and counted to three to help organize attacks against officers. He also assisted with carrying a ladder to the front of the line.
Rotella was identified by the FBI, and monitoring began outside his home in Kannapolis, a Charlotte suburb, in July 2023. Agents followed him, a wife, and two children to a supermarket. Surveillance images from the business matched those from the capitol. Data from his phone also indicated that he was present in the area during the disturbance. Agents secured an arrest order and detained him on August 29, 2023.
According to his sentencing document, Rotella works as a bouncer at a strip club.
“The nature and circumstances of Rotella’s offenses, including his persistent defiance of police and willingness to enlist the mob around him and usher their progress, were of the utmost seriousness, and fully support the government’s recommended sentence of 60 months’ incarceration — higher than the midpoint of the applicable guidelines range,” the prosecution said.
“Rotella is now a father of three children, aged one, five, and ten.” Rotella’s crimes are in stark contrast to his education, security work, and responsibility to support his family, all of which he ignored when he stormed the Capitol and assaulted police officers on January 6, 2021.