Centre County man gets two years in prison for assaulting officers during Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol

Terry Allen also received two years of supervised release for assaulting police with a flagpole and metal bar during the Capitol riots. He previously spent two years in Centre County jail for assaulting a police officer in 1984.

A Centre County man was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for assaulting officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the violent culmination of then-President Donald Trump’s failed attempt to have the results of the 2020 presidential election overturned.

Terry Allen, 65, of Spring Mills, also received two years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution. He had been arrested in July 2023 and charged with multiple felonies, including engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or on restricted grounds, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, and assaulting a federal officer.

According to court documents, Allen was among a group of rioters who clashed with officers trying to secure an entrance at the Capitol’s West Plaza during the Jan. 6 attack. Allen and other rioters had removed bike racks used as barricades, pushing them into the crowd. In an interaction with an officer, Allen was seen gesturing aggressively and raising his arms in a combative manner.

After a tense exchange, Allen shoved two officers before being pushed back into the crowd. Allen then used his flagpole to reach toward objects on the ground, likely items belonging to officers, before repositioning the flagpole and jabbing it at officers’ torsos multiple times. 

Allen returned to the front lines on the West Plaza, armed with both his wooden flagpole and a metal bar resembling part of removed fencing. As a physical altercation erupted between rioters and officers along the police line, Allen adopted a stance indicative of a potential assault, positioning his flagpole and metal bar parallel to the ground and aimed at officers. When officers deployed pepper spray, Allen turned sideways, wound up, and hurled the metal bar at the police line, striking at least one officer.

According to Centre County court records, Allen was charged with assault on a State College police officer following a 1984 altercation in which Allen repeatedly slammed the head of the officer on the pavement. Allen pled guilty to felony aggravated assault and served two years in county jail. 

To date, more than 100 Pennsylvanians have been arrested in connection to the Capitol attack. Approximately 56 have been sentenced. Three died (two by suicide) while awaiting sentencing.