Man with 'small armoury' at Capitol on January 6 sentenced to prison

Lonnie Coffman's truck contained a handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and more

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters

A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA

Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP

Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP

A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP

US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP

Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP

Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP

US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP

A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP

Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters

Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP

A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP

Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP

A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP

Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP

US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP

Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP

A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg

US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP

An Alabama man who parked a pickup truck filled with weapons and Molotov cocktail components near the US Capitol on the day of last year’s insurrection was sentenced on Friday to nearly four years in prison.

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she still hasn’t heard an explanation for why Lonnie Leroy Coffman had “almost a small armoury in his truck, ready to do battle".

She sentenced Coffman to three years and 10 months in prison, giving him credit for the more than one year already served since his arrest.

Coffman of Falkville, Alabama, said he never intended to hurt anybody or destroy any property. He said he drove to Washington alone “to try to discover just how true and secure was the [2020 presidential] election”.

“If I had any idea that things would turn out like they did, I would have stayed home,” he wrote in a handwritten letter to the judge.

More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot, when supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to disrupt lawmakers’ formal certification of his reelection defeat. Five people died and scores of Capitol Police officers were seriously injured.

Over 240 participants in the attack have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanours punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment. More than 130 have been sentenced.

Coffman is one of nine defendants whose prison sentence exceeds one year.

Coffman, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the US Army, pleaded guilty in November to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol without a licence.

He was carrying a loaded handgun and revolver without a licence as he walked in Washington on January 6, 2021, according to prosecutors. He isn’t accused of entering the Capitol or joining the mob during the riot that day

When Coffman parked his truck a few blocks from the Capitol on the morning of January 6, it contained a handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and a cooler containing eleven mason jars with holes punched in the lids, according to prosecutors.

Each jar contained a mixture of gasoline and Styrofoam, which are components of the homemade incendiary devices called Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement officers found the cache when they searched Coffman’s truck. They had been sweeping the area after pipe bombs were found near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee.

Later, investigators also found Molotov cocktail components at Coffman’s home in Alabama.

Handwritten notes found inside the vehicle included a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that said, “We The People Are The Rightful Masters Of Both The Congress And The Courts, Not To Overthrow The Constitution But To Overthrow The Men Who Pervert The Constitution."

Coffman, a retired machine operator, had travelled to Washington in December 2020 and tried to drive to the home of a US senator who isn’t named in a court filing by prosecutors. He also called the senator’s office in an effort to “help with the election fraud he saw”.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.