Source: United States Department of Justice News
A Maine man was sentenced today on multiple felony and misdemeanor convictions for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His 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.
Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, of Lebanon, Maine, was sentenced to 87 months in prison after he was convicted of 11 charges, including seven felonies, following a bench trial in the District of Columbia before the Honorable Rudolph Contreras. In addition to the prison term, Judge Contreras ordered 36 months of supervised release, restitution of $2,000.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, between 3:45 and 4:30 p.m., Fitzsimons was illegally on the Capitol grounds and among a crowd of rioters brawling with law enforcement officers at the tunnel entrance of the lower west terrace of the Capitol building. Fitzsimons was wearing a white butcher’s jacket and a fur pelt and carrying an unstrung bow. While in that area, Fitzsimons committed five assaults against law enforcement officers over an approximately five-minute span.
First, Fitzsimons hurled an unstrung bow like a spear at the group of law enforcement officers. The object hit an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in the ballistic helmet and bounced off. Fitzsimons then reached for and made forcible contact with an MPD detective immediately before another rioter sprayed him with a chemical agent, trapping the chemical under the detective’s mask and causing the detective to temporarily suffocate. Fitzsimons also tried to pull a fallen officer into the mob. A sergeant from the U.S. Capitol Police tried to protect the fallen officer, and Fitzsimons grappled with him, yanking on his shield and shoulder strap with all of his considerable weight, causing permanent injuries to the sergeant’s shoulder that necessitated surgery and ultimately ended the sergeant’s lengthy law enforcement career. Finally, Fitzsimons twice charged the group of officers, wildly swinging his fists. He eventually retreated, but only after being inadvertently bloodied by another rioter’s unsuccessful attack on those same officers. As Fitzsimons left the Capitol grounds, he encouraged others to “get in there” and fight the police like he had.
Fitzsimons was found guilty on Sept. 27, 2022, of seven felony charges, including: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding; four counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, including two involving a dangerous weapon or bodily injury; one count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, and one count of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. He also was found guilty of four misdemeanor charges including: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building or grounds; and committing an act of violence in the Capitol Building or grounds.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine, the Middle District of Florida, and the Northern District of Texas.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which listed Fitzsimons as #139 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Boston Field Office and its Portland Resident Agency, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 30 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,069 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 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.