WASHINGTON, D.C. – A South Jersey farmer has received a two-month prison term for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot.

Ezekiel “Zeke” Stecher of Mantua also must spend two years on supervised release and pay $2,000 in restitution, a court record says.

Stecher, 48, admitted guilt to a felony charge of civil disorder in September.

The Justice Department had sought a three-month prison term for Stecher, as well as three years on supervised release.

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It asserted Stecher “contributed to one of the most violent confrontations” of the riot, a battle for control of an entrance inside a Capitol tunnel.

A prosecution sentencing memo said Stecher entered the Lower West Terrace tunnel three times and took part in “the mob’s concerted ‘heave ho’ push” against a police line.

It also accused Stecher of “aggressively haranguing” police officers during the siege by supporters of then President Donald Trump.

And it said Stecher, before entering the tunnel for a third confrontation with police, told other rioters, “if we can’t push them, drag ‘em.”

The memo also said Stecher has a stable family life “unlike many defendants who have appeared before this court … and did not suffer any childhood trauma or abuse that might explain his decision to engage in criminal conduct.”

Stecher’s family has owned a 150-acre fruit-and-vegetable farm in the Sewell area, between Bridgeton Pike and Breakneck Road, since 1905, according to the website of Jersey Fresh, the state Department of Agriculture’s marketing arm.

An attorney for Stecher could not be reached for immediate comment.

Stecher, who gave his name in a video made during the riot, was arrested on March 9, 2021.

He was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 3, by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C.

The judge dismissed five other charges against him as part of the plea agreement.

Stecher, who also must pay $2,000 in restitution for damage caused by rioters, remains free pending his assignment to a federal facility.

Stecher is among some 15 South Jersey residents to be arrested in connection with the riot by Trump supporters seeking to block the election of President Joe Biden.

He is the eighth to receive a prison term.

Four area residents have received probationary terms, and two await sentencing.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Zeke Stecher was sentenced on a charge of civil disorder