The son of a distinguished conservative activist has been convicted of costs that he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan, 6, 2021, bashed in a window, chased a police officer, invaded the Senate flooring and helped a mob disrupt the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was discovered responsible Friday of 10 costs, together with 5 felony offenses, after a trial determined by a federal decide, in line with the Justice Department.
Bozell’s father is Brent Bozell III, who based the Media Research Center, Parents Television Council and different conservative media organizations.
U.S. District Judge John Bates heard testimony with out a jury earlier than convicting Bozell of costs together with obstructing the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress convened to certify the Electoral College vote that Biden gained over then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Bozell was “a major contributor to the chaos, the destruction, and the obstruction at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” prosecutors mentioned in a pretrial court docket submitting.
The decide is scheduled to condemn Bozell on Jan. 9.
Bozell’s lawyer, William Shipley Jr., didn’t instantly reply to an e mail searching for touch upon Saturday.
Prosecutors mentioned that earlier than the riot, Bozell helped plan and coordinate occasions in Washington in assist of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” motion. They mentioned that after Trump’s rally close to the White House on Jan. 6, Bozell marched to the Capitol and joined a mob in breaking by way of a police line. He smashed a window subsequent to the Senate Wing Door, creating an entry level for tons of of rioters, in line with prosecutors.
After climbing by way of the smashed window, Bozell joined different rioters in chasing a Capitol Police officer, Eugene Goodman, up a staircase to an space the place different officers confronted the group.
Later, Bozell was captured on video getting into workplace of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. He appeared to have one thing in his hand when he left, prosecutors mentioned.
Entering the Senate gallery, Bozell moved a C-SPAN digicam to face the bottom so it couldn’t report rioters ransacking the chamber on a reside video feed. He additionally spent a number of minutes on the Senate flooring.
Bozell roamed thorough the Capitol for almost an hour, reaching greater than a dozen totally different elements of the constructing and passing by way of a minimum of seven police traces earlier than police escorted him out, prosecutors mentioned.
In a pretrial court docket submitting, Bozell’s lawyer denied that Bozell helped overwhelm a police line or engaged in any violence in opposition to police.
“In fact, video evidence will show that Mr. Bozell assisted in some small way law enforcement officers that he thought could be helped by his assistance,” Shipley wrote.
Shipley additionally argued that Bozell “was – for the most part – simply lost and wandering from place-to-place observing events as they transpired.”
Bozell was arrested in February 2021. An FBI tipster who recognized Bozell acknowledged him partially from the “Hershey Christian Academy” sweatshirt that he wore on Jan. 6.
More than 1,100 folks have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. More than 650 of them have pleaded responsible. Approximately 140 others have been convicted by judges or juries after trials in Washington.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com