‘They were five men from five different states who’d never met each other. But on Jan. 6, 2021, they found themselves together at the front of the angry push by rioters toward the U.S. Capitol. And together, video showed, they lifted a line of five linked barriers and heaved them into a group of five Capitol Police officers with such force that one of the officers went airborne, striking her head and falling briefly unconscious.
The encounter at the Peace Circle, prosecutors said, cleared the first path for rioters to reach the Capitol where Trump supporters on the west side of the building surged forward as the police retreated. The five men continued to wreak havoc, fighting with officers or encouraging other rioters to push ahead, and on Friday a federal judge found all five guilty of assaulting law enforcement and convicted three of them for obstructing the confirmation of the 2020 presidential election.
“These are the defendants who started it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra F. Foster said in her closing argument Nov. 2 to U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb, after the defendants chose a bench trial instead of a jury trial. “There is little doubt that this moment ignited a fire that lasted around the Capitol for hours … They started the Capitol breach. Now they must take responsibility.”’
Another victory for democracy.
The encounter at the Peace Circle, prosecutors said, cleared the first path for rioters to reach the Capitol where Trump supporters on the west side of the building surged forward as the police retreated. The five men continued to wreak havoc, fighting with officers or encouraging other rioters to push ahead, and on Friday a federal judge found all five guilty of assaulting law enforcement and convicted three of them for obstructing the confirmation of the 2020 presidential election.
“These are the defendants who started it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra F. Foster said in her closing argument Nov. 2 to U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb, after the defendants chose a bench trial instead of a jury trial. “There is little doubt that this moment ignited a fire that lasted around the Capitol for hours … They started the Capitol breach. Now they must take responsibility.”’
Another victory for democracy.