Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Zach Rash, a Payson contractor, received 27 months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
- Rash pleaded guilty to assaulting officers; other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea.
- Prosecutors highlighted Rash's violent actions and ideological motivation despite his clean criminal background.
SALT LAKE CITY — A 25-year-old independent contractor from Payson was sentenced to over two years in prison Wednesday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol.
Zach Rash pleaded guilty in July to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, a felony offense. As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped charges of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and inflicting bodily injury.
On Wednesday, Judge Randolph Moss sentenced Rash to 27 months in prison, three years supervised release and $2,100 in restitution and fines in U.S. District Court.
"Rash's felonious conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, was part of a massive riot that almost succeeded in preventing the certification vote from being carried out, frustrating the peaceful transition of presidential power, and throwing the United States into a constitutional crisis," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
"Although he was in a sea of chaos, Rash's actions stood out within the mob for his commitment to disorder and violence," the memo states. "Not only did Rash go to the riot, but he also went to the front of one of the worst, most dangerous areas and joined the assaults against officers."
According to court documents, Rash climbed to the Lower West Terrace with a fire extinguisher, moving to the front lines where "he invited others to join him in assaults against officers," prosecutors wrote in the memo. He was captured by surveillance footage and video taken by participants activating a stun gun he grabbed from another rioter, lunging at officers before passing it to others, charging documents say.
The man "barked orders to those around him" and climbed above the mob in the Inauguration Tunnel, where he "pried a critical door away from officers," the sentencing documents say. "He held this door open as other rioters ruthlessly attacked officers in the tunnel with a range of makeshift weaponry," according to prosecutors.
Rash's defense relied on the man's nonexistent criminal background to argue for lesser prison time. Prosecutors, however, argued the crimes at the Capitol were different from many crimes, generally. "The criminal offenses of Jan. 6 were not crimes of passion, desperation or opportunity: They were ideologically motivated crimes. In these circumstances, the absence of a criminal background does not lessen Rash's propensity to commit this type of offense again," court documents say.
"Rash's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, were surprising given his upbringing, background and lifestyle," prosecutors wrote in the memo. "He had the competencies and support system to know better. The lack of mitigating factors in Rash's life that would have led him down this dark path is particularly aggravating."
The Payson man is one of more than 1,488 defendants charged across all 50 states and the District of Columbia with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. He is one of 547 defendants who have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office update from August.
Court documents say the damages are over $2.9 million, according to a July 2023 estimate, plus around $629,000 in restitution submitted by the Metropolitan Police Department.
