Security News: Kentucky Woman Pleads Guilty to Spraying Pepper Spray at Officers During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WASHINGTON — A Kentucky woman pleaded guilty today to resisting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon and other crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Shelly Stallings, 43, of Morganfield, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to all counts in a superseding indictment charging her with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon, interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, among other charges.

According to court documents, Stallings and three co-defendants sprayed a chemical irritant, pepper spray, at a line of police officers attempting to secure the area of the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building. The co-defendants, including her husband Peter J. Schwartz, 49, have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Stallings was arrested on Feb. 16, 2022, in Owensboro, Kentucky. She pleaded guilty to a total of seven charges. The charges include five felonies: assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. She also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor offenses: disorderly conduct in the Capitol Grounds of Buildings and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings. She is to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2023. She faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on the charge of assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon and statutory maximums totaling 36 additional years for the other offenses, as well as potential financial penalties.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The 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. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Louisville Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

In the 19 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 860 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 260 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.  Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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Security News: Cleveland Man Sentenced to Prison for Providing a False Statement to a Firearms Dealer, Illegal Possession of Ammunition and Possession with Intent to Distribute Drugs

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLEVELAND – Andre Hunt, 24, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to 61 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022.  Hunt previously pleaded guilty to providing a false statement to a firearms dealer in Ashtabula, Ohio, in order to purchase a weapon, illegal possession of ammunition and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made during the sentencing hearing, Hunt was released from prison on July 22, 2020, following a 2015 conviction in the Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas of two counts of felony aggravated robbery.

Shortly after his release, on Aug. 21, 2020, Hunt gave a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer in Ashtabula in an attempt to purchase a pistol.  Court documents state that Hunt claimed he had never been convicted of a felony when, in fact, he had previously been convicted of felony charges.

Following this incident, on Oct. 1, 2020, court documents state that Hunt was found to be in possession of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and fourteen rounds of ammunition.  Hunt is prohibited from possessing ammunition due to his previous felony conviction.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Crime Enforcement Agency of Ashtabula County (CEAAC) and the Ashtabula Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Katz.

Security News: Fineview Felon Admits Illegally Possessing Various Drugs and a Stolen Pistol

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty to federal drug distribution and firearms charges, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Clarence Thomas, age 29, of the City’s Fineview section, pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Quantities of Heroin and Fentanyl and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, before Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone.

According to information presented to the court, on Nov. 10, 2019, City of Pittsburgh Police executed a search warrant at Thomas’s residence following surveillance of apparent drug trafficking activity. Officers seized quantities of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, as well as an illegally possessed Ruger pistol that had been previously reported as being stolen. Thomas had a prior felony conviction for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and, as such, was legally forbidden from possessing a firearm.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7, 2022. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Thomas has been granted bond pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

Security News: Florida Man Found Guilty of Hate Crime for Racially-Motivated Attack Against Black Man Driving with his Family

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office announced that a federal jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a guilty verdict against Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, for a racially-motivated attack against a Black man who was traveling down a public roadway with his family. 

At trial the government introduced evidence that on Aug. 8, 2021, Leahy came upon the victim, J.T., who was driving his daughter and girlfriend home from a family get together, and began threatening J.T., calling him racial slurs, and used his car in an attempt to force J.T. and his family off the road. Leahy’s pursuit of J.T. and his family lasted nearly a mile and half before Leahy sideswiped J.T. as J.T. attempted to evade the attack. Leahy fled the scene of the accident, but stopped at the next red light. J.T. pulled behind Leahy at the light, and Leahy got out of his car, stormed at J.T., and tried to assault him, again yelling racial slurs. When officers from the Pinellas County Sherriff’s Office arrived on the scene, Leahy made numerous statements evidencing his bias motive, including telling the officers that Black people need to be kept “in their areas.”

 “Across America, families must be able to freely travel our public streets without fear of being attacked because of race,” said Assistant Attorney General Clarke. “This verdict should send a strong message that the Department of Justice remains firmly committed to prosecuting, to the fullest extent of the law, those who would use violence to enforce heinous racist beliefs.”

“No one should be targeted, threatened, intimidated or assaulted because of their race,” said U.S. Attorney Handberg. “The defendant in this case acted upon his bigoted beliefs and put an entire family and others’ safety at risk. We and our local, state and federal law enforcement partners will not tolerate such behaviors in our community.”

“Hate crimes are not just an attack on an individual, they are an attack on entire communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Walker. “We want to assure the public the FBI will work diligently investigating crimes driven by hate and intolerance. We encourage anyone who believes their civil rights have been violated to report it to the FBI.”

Leahy faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Leahy was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals pending sentencing.   

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlton Gammons for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys David Reese and Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

Security News: Five Florida Men Arrested on Charges For Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendants Were Allegedly Affiliated With a Militia Group, Were Among Rioters on Lower West Terrace

WASHINGTON — Five Florida men, all self-identified militia members, were arrested today
on charges stemming from their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their
actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain
and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Four of the defendants — Benjamin Cole, 38, of Leesburg, John Edward Crowley, 50, of

Windermere, Brian Preller, 33, of Mount Dora, and Jonathan Rockholt, 38, of Palm Coast, Florida –
are charged with the felony offense of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil
disorder. Along with a fifth defendant — Tyler Bensch, 20, of Casselberry – they also are charged
with the misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and
disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

Crowley, Rockholt, and Bensch were arrested in Florida and are making their initial court
appearances today in the Middle District of Florida. Cole, who was arrested in Louisville, is making
his initial court appearance in the Western District of Kentucky. Preller, who was arrested in
Rutledge, Vermont, is making his appearance in the District of Vermont.
According to court documents, the five men self-identified as members of the “B Squad,” a
subgroup of a militia-style, Florida based organization known as the “Guardians of Freedom,” which
adheres to the ideology of the “Three Percenters.” They traveled to Washington, D.C., with others in
the “B Squad” and stayed at a hotel on Jan. 5, 2021. On Jan. 6, the five defendants were among those
illegally gathered on the Capitol grounds. Cole wore a tactical vest. Preller wore a tactical vest with a
chemical irritant spray attached to the front, as well as large goggles and a green helmet with the
word “monster” on the back. He also carried a long black walking stick and wore a shirt that read
“waterboarding instructor.” Rockholt wore a tactical vest and carried what appeared to be a knife in
his front right pocket; he also wore a baseball helmet. Bensch wore a tactical vest, as well as a
military-style helmet with goggles and a black gas mask. He also carried a chemical irritant in front
of the vest.

Cole, Crowley, Preller and Rockholt were in a group that engaged in a confrontation with law
enforcement officers in the tunnel area of the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Bensch remained just
outside. While inside the tunnel, Cole, Preller, Crowley and Rockholt confronted and assisted the
crowd in confronting the officers that were preventing the tunnel and Capitol from being breached.
They added their force, momentum, bodies, and efforts to the other rioters in a “heave-ho” effort that
put pressure on the police line. As a direct result of the actions of the rioters in the tunnel at that
time, the mob penetrated deeper, pushing the police line back.

Once officers finally were able to repel Cole, Preller, Crowley, Rockholt, and others from the
tunnel, Rockholt picked up a clear riot shield with a Capitol Police seal before leaving the area.
Bensch, meanwhile, used one of his chemical irritants to spray the face of an individual who was an
unknown member of the crowd, even though that person posed no threat to him.

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. Valuable
assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Florida, the District
of Vermont, and the Western District of Kentucky.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington, Jacksonville, Tampa, Boston, and
Albany Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the
Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 19 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 860 individuals have been arrested in nearly
all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 260 individuals
charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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