Man nabbed by Supreme Court gets 22 years

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The man arrested near the U.S. Supreme Court building wearing a flak jacket and carrying a sword was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gregory Jackson handed down Michael Gorbey's sentence after presiding over the three-week trial earlier this year, The Hill, a Washington political newspaper, reported.

Under D.C. law, Gorbey must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for release.

Gorbey, 38, was arrested in January near the Supreme Court building while wearing a flak jacket, and having a 3-foot sword and loaded shotgun in his possession. At the time he said he was going to a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts.

Gorbey, who represented himself during the trial, argued he was the victim of a government conspiracy. He said the shotgun was actually a walking stick and that video footage of his having a shotgun were altered.

During a search of a truck Gorbey allegedly drove to the Capitol, police found components that could be used to build a bomb.

A jury convicted Gorbey in May on 14 counts, including a weapons of mass destruction charge.