By AFRO Staff
Though 26 months have passed since insurrectionists violently took over the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, trials, convictions and sentences are still being handed down.
The attack on the U.S. Capitol disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress, which was in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results.
This week a man in South Carolina was arrested for his actions in the Jan. 6 Capitol Breach, in addition to a New York woman also found guilty for her actions on that day.
Thomas Andrew Casselman, 29, of Walhalla, S.C., is counted among the more than 999 defendants who have been arrested. The cuffs have been slapped on Jan. 6 participants in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
According to court documents, Casselman is seen in images from Jan. 6, 2021, published widely, wearing a dark gray cap with design on the front, black face mask, American flag gaiter or scarf around the neck, black jacket, and backpack while in the crowd on the west side of the Capitol Building. For that, he was charged with the following: civil disorder; remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; unlawful possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds or buildings–all felonies– and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol building.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina, body Worn Camera (BWC) footage from D.C. Metropolitan Police officers as well as open-source video footage show Casselman spraying law enforcement officers with an orange colored spray, presumed to be a chemical irritant, specifically, bear spray. And, for that he’s charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.
Casselman joins approximately 326 defendants who have identical charges with assaulting, including approximately 106 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia reports.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and is being investigated by the FBI’s Columbia, South Carolina Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Meanwhile, Maryann Mooney-Rondon, 56, of Watertown, N.Y, was found guilty on March 27 of obstruction of an official proceeding, and aiding and abetting the theft of government property. In the company of 306 others who have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so, she faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as potential financial penalties. She also joins 46 defendants charged with theft of government property.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Mooney-Rondon, attended a rally on the Ellipse and then marched to the Capitol, where she and her son Rafael Rondon, who pleaded guilty in December 2022, illegally entered the grounds. The two entered the Capitol Building at approximately 2:23 p.m. through the Senate Wing Door. They moved through the building and, at approximately 2:32 p.m., entered the office suite of the Speaker of the House. They then moved into a conference room, where they assisted an unidentified male in the theft of a laptop computer.
Later, they moved to the Senate Gallery, where each stole a satchel containing an emergency escape hood, a filtering respiratory protective device maintained for members of Congress and staff. They exited the Capitol Building at approximately 2:52 p.m.
Mooney-Rondon was arrested on Oct. 1, 2021, in Syracuse, N.Y. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 18, 2023. This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI Albany Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Mooney-Rondon as #225 in its seeking information photos.
Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale, according to the Latest U.S. Capitol Breach Update to the office’s Capital Breach Resource Page.
As of October 14, 2022, the approximate losses suffered as a result of the siege at the Capitol totaled $2,881,360.20. That amount reflects, among other things, damage to the Capitol building and grounds and certain costs borne by the U.S. Capitol Police.
The update attempts to assure the American people that the Department of Justice’s resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on January 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane.
To date, two individuals have been found guilty at contested trials; 19 were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers– a felony– including one who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Of the 420 defendants who received sentences, approximately 220 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Approximately 100 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention, including approximately 15 who also were sentenced to a period of incarceration.
For more updates concerning the breach of the Capitol Building on Jan 6. visit the Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page.
The post Wheels of justice slowly turning for Jan. 6 insurrectionists appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .
