FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 46-year-old man from Madera, already convicted for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, was sentenced Monday of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to the federal Department of Justice, 46-year-old Benjamin Martin of Madera was sentenced on Monday to three years and two months in prison. Clovis real estate agent will face charges in connection to January 6 Capitol violence, DOJ documents say Martin was convicted of the firearms charges following a one-day trial in Fresno.  According to evidence presented at the trial and other court records, in September 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Martin’s residence in Madera and arrested him on charges filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for the breach of the United States Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021.  During the search, the FBI said they found eight firearms, including an AR‑15‑style rifle, multiple high-capacity magazines for the AR-15, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition. Martin was prohibited from possessing these items because of his prior domestic violence conviction, and resulting restraining order, for choking his then-girlfriend and dragging her back into the house after she tried to flee. Valley activist charged in Capitol riot released after posting cash and property bonds Federal prosecutors say Martin was caught on a recorded jail call where he instructed his current fiancée to lie to authorities and tell them that the firearms seized from his residence belonged to her and her father and that he did not know about them. She agreed to do so and Martin received an enhancement to his sentence for this witness tampering. The Department of Justice adds that Martin also recently went to trial in the Capitol breach case in Washington, D.C., where the evidence showed that he held a door to the Capitol open while officers tried to close it. He kept the door open so that other rioters could spray chemical irritants and throw objects at the officers. Martin was convicted on five counts. Martin is scheduled to be sentenced in the Capitol breach case in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras.