DERBY — Federal prosecutors say Gino DiGiovanni Jr. should have known better.

The former Derby alderman and mayoral candidate entered the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, through a door with a "loud alarm" blaring after police had used pepper spray to repel a crowd of former President Donald Trump's supporters surging toward the building, members of which shouted "Take it back!" and "They can't stop us all," according to court documents.

Citing videos posted online, prosecutors said DiGiovanni "joined in chants and cheers" of other Trump supporters while walking toward the building, then remained inside for about 20 minutes with "crowds of rioters demanding entry into closed areas" before leaving as police officers began to clear out the rotunda.

And while he was not seen attacking anyone while on the grounds, he should still go to jail for 30 days on a single count of entering and remaining in a restricted building to which he pleaded guilty in January, Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Boyles argued in a 20-page memorandum filed April 19. The charge carries up to a year behind bars.

"Notably, for a misdemeanor defendant like DiGiovanni, the absence of violent or destructive acts is not a mitigating factor," the memo says. "Had DiGiovanni engaged in such conduct, he would have faced additional criminal charges."

DiGiovanni on Monday referred questions to his lawyer, Martin Minnella, who did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Boyles continued that DiGiovanni entered the Capitol despite obvious signs that he should not, including "OC-spray in the air while he was on the West Plaza and Lower West Terrace; the inaugural stage, still in the middle of construction (as DiGiovanni would have recognized as a construction professional himself); the verbal attacks he heard hurled at police; the broken windows and glass on the Upper West Terrace near the Senate Wing Door; and the alarms blaring as he entered through the Upper West Terrace Door."

And while he has "technically accepted responsibility for his crime by pleading guilty, DiGiovanni has yet to demonstrate true remorse for his actions or to express any recognition of the import of his actions from that day," Boyles wrote.

In their own sentencing memo, also filed April 19, the defense asked Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a sentence of no jail time, pointing to the fact that DiGiovanni was running for mayor when he was charged in the case in August.

"It is safe to say that this became very difficult for Mr. DiGiovanni, due to the negative impact from this case," the defense's six-page memo reads. "Mr. DiGiovanni has faced and continues to face ridicule, as well as many other repercussions from that one bad deed on Jan. 6, 2021."

The defense memo also noted that DiGiovanni's construction business "has suffered these negative repercussions" as well, and that DiGiovanni's father died last November, a "monumental tragedy."

"Mr. DiGiovanni is someone who has never been on this side of the law, for he has no criminal history," Minnella wrote. "It is more than accurate and sincere to say that a sentence of imprisonment is not warranted to promote deterrence, for this has already been achieved. Mr. DiGiovanni stands before this honorable court having accepted responsibility. Moreover, he understands the seriousness of the offense."

Boyles, though, noted that "many of the rioters intended that their attack on the Capitol would disrupt, if not prevent, one of the most important democratic processes we have: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected President. There is possibly no greater factor the court must consider."

While DiGiovanni acknowledged his presence at the Capitol in a TV interview, he "did not express remorse for his part in the riot at the Capitol, even as a sitting elected official at the time of the interview," federal prosecutors said, citing statistics from other Jan. 6 cases they said shows a 30-day jail sentence for DiGiovanni "would not result in an unwarranted sentencing disparity."