READ MORE: Man who dragged former officer Michael Fanone into Jan. 6 mob gets more than 7 yearsAn email seeking comment was sent to his lawyers on Tuesday.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced in May. Federal sentencing guidelines call for about seven to 10 years in prison, according to court papers.Rodriguez admitted in an interview with FBI agents after his arrest in March 2021 that he drove a stun gun into Fanone’s neck.
Rodriguez told agents that he had believed that he was doing the "right thing" on Jan. 6 and that he had been prepared to die to "save the country." He cried as he spoke to the agents, saying he was "stupid" and ashamed by his actions.Rodriguez’s attorneys had tried unsuccessfully to block prosecutors from using his FBI interview at trial, arguing that the agents used "psychologically coercive tactics" to get him to talk.Authorities say Rodriguez and others were part of a Telegram group chat called "PATRIOTS 45 MAGA Gang" in the run-up to Jan.
6 in which they advocated violence and discussed what they viewed as a stolen election. In one post on Dec. 29, 2020, Rodriguez wrote in the chat: "Congress can hang.