Former WCSO deputy sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for his role in Jan 6. insurrection

A former Williamson County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) deputy-in-training has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

In Sept. 2023, 29-year-old Ronald Colton "Colt" McAbee, of Unionville, pleaded guilty to two charges before standing trial and being found guilty on five additional charges in Oct. 2023.

On Thursday, McAbee was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and was also ordered to pay $32,165 in restitution.

McAbee was a deputy-in-training in WCSO's detention division from Nov 9, 2020, to March 23, 2021.

Former Williamson County Sheriff Dusty Rhoades told The News in 2021 that McAbee had sustained an off-duty injury, which had kept McAbee on a medical leave from the department during the insurrection.

Sheriff Roades said that WCSO was later contacted by the FBI, and McAbee was arrested by federal agents in Aug. 2021.

Prosecutors pointed to a YouTube video, which can be viewed below, noting that at the 5:35 mark the group can be seen in the huge crowd engaging in the riot which, aimed to prevent a joint session of the U.S. Congress from certifying votes in the 2020 presidential election.

McAbee was arrested along with a Michigan man as part of an ongoing investigation into five other men who “attacked police officers with a baton, crutch, flag pole and reinforced gloves" that prosecutors called "deadly and dangerous weapon[s].”

The Huffington Post reported that McAbee was chastised by the judge for displaying a "sheriff" patch as he assaulted police officers, an act that the judge called "outrageous."

The Tennessean first reported on McAbee’s connection to WCSO and also reported that prosecutors argued in court that McAbee should be held without bail and called him a "threat to the peaceful functioning of our community."

The report cites that, at one point, McAbee also allegedly flashed a badge to police in order to gain entrance to the Capitol. 

The Tennessean also reported that before his stint with WCSO, McAbee worked as a deputy with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.

“In the days following January 6th, McAbee expressed pride in participating in the riot.,” a DOJ news release reads. “On Jan. 7, 2021, McAbee and his associate took a photograph posing with a newspaper headline that read 'INSURRECTION' and featured a photograph of the standoff between law enforcement officers and rioters at the House Chamber. McAbee is smiling in the picture.”

McAbee also texted that photograph to another person, along with pictures of a head injury he sustained on Jan. 6, writing, "I've shed blood for my country. By the hands of the swamp. I will shed much more in the days to come. But I will not forget the Oath I swore years ago to protect the America I once knew. / necisque libertas [liberty or death].”

More than 1,313 people have been charged with crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, in an investigation that remains ongoing by the FBI.