TOMS RIVER, NJ . – A Toms River, New Jersey, man received a prison sentence today for his role in assaulting law enforcement during the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, disrupting the official session of U.S. Congress related to the 2020 presidential election vote count.
Salvatore Vassallo, age 60, will serve 18 months behind bars followed by a 36-month supervised release. Vassallo entered a guilty plea to the charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers on May 11.
Court records reveal that Vassallo trespassed into the Capitol grounds on the day of the incident. He vaulted over a railing and joined a group confronting officers near the Senate Wing Door and the Senate Fire Door on the Upper West Terrace. Around 4:26 p.m., Vassallo engaged a Metropolitan Police Department officer, grabbing and pushing him with considerable force. He subsequently left the scene.
The prosecution team comprised members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey provided significant support.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office, which listed Vassallo as #338 on its information-seeking photographs, spearheaded the investigation. They collaborated with the FBI’s Newark Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department. Since January 6, 2021, over 1,100 individuals across almost all 50 states face charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach. This number includes over 398 individuals indicted for assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Investigations continue.
