A Maryland police officer was found guilty on Friday of participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The officer, who remains free until sentencing, was convicted of two felonies and three misdemeanors related to his involvement in the riot.
The officer, identified as a Montgomery County Police Officer, was accused of hurling a smoke bomb and other objects at police officers guarding a tunnel entrance on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace. The smoke bomb ignited and filled the tunnel with smoke, impacting law enforcement officers.
The judge presiding over the case emphasized that no police officer should have to endure such attacks and provocations. The officer's attorney declined to comment following the verdict.
After the officer's arrest last October, the police department suspended him without pay and initiated steps to terminate his employment. The department stated that the actions of one individual do not define the entire department.
The officer applied to join the Montgomery County police force in July 2021, approximately six months after the riot. The department claimed it was unaware of his alleged involvement in the attack until July 2023, when it learned he was under FBI investigation.
Video evidence presented during the trial showed the officer wearing distinctive attire outside the Capitol and engaging with other rioters. Prosecutors detailed how he waved at fellow rioters to advance on police lines and threw objects at officers guarding the tunnel entrance.
The judge convicted the officer of interfering with police during a civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, disorderly conduct, and trespassing. However, the judge acquitted him of charges related to engaging in physical violence due to insufficient evidence.
Despite the Capitol riot charges, the officer had been on administrative leave since a separate incident in July 2023, where he shot and killed a suspect who had allegedly stabbed four people. The police department clarified that his unpaid suspension was linked to the Capitol riot charges, not the shooting incident.
The officer is scheduled to be sentenced on November 22, facing the consequences of his actions during the Capitol riot and the subsequent legal proceedings.
