Hoffman Estates man sentenced to six days in prison for January 6 charges

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (WLS) -- A self-proclaimed "computer geek" from Hoffman Estates, who was seen on video in a physical skirmish with police during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, will spend less than a week in prison. According to federal prosecutors, that's far less than they had recommended.

EDITORS NOTE: On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping pardons and commutations for Jan. 6 rioters.

Tyng Jing Yang, 61, was sentenced Tuesday to six days in prison, two years of court-supervised probation and a small fine during a Washington, D.C. hearing.

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Judge John D. Bates rejected the government's argument that Yang should be sent to federal prison for 11 months because he grabbed the wrist and batton of a police officer during the day of insurrection in 2021.

Yang had plead guilty last September to felony civil disorder, he admitted all that he had been charged with. Prosecutors pointed to Capitol surveillance showing Yang at the head of the mob, pressing forward even as uniformed law enforcement attempted to stop the violent and aggressive crowd of rioters.

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Yang's attorney, who represented him at sentencing, Paulette M. Pagán, asked for straight probation and no prison time.

"Mr. Yang has taken full responsibility for his actions on January 6, 2021. He wishes to apologize to law enforcement, the community, and his loved ones," Pagán told the I-Team prior to the hearing. "He is a loving father and committed husband with no prior criminal history. He sincerely regrets his actions and is eager to move past this chapter of his life."

Yang's unusually short prison stay includes another unusual twist. "The sentence is to be served intermittently, that is, three consecutive two-day weekends" the United States Attorney's Office said.

"In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony" D.C. prosecutors said in a statement following Yang's sentencing.