Month: July 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Minnesota man was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of six felony and five misdemeanor charges 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.

            Brian Christopher Mock, 44, of Minneapolis, was found guilty of all 11 charges following a bench trial before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 10, 2023.

            Mock was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding; obstructing officers during a civil disorder; four counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; theft of government property; entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and act of physical violence in the Capitol building or grounds.

            According to the government’s evidence, Mock occupied the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 for over three hours, during which time video footage captured him removing barricades, assaulting multiple law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the building from rioters, stealing government property, cheering on the rioters, and repeatedly demanding that the police surrender the Capitol grounds. Specifically, from approximately 2:29-2:35 p.m., Mock committed four assaults.

            First, Mock shoved a fallen U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer back to the ground as he tried to stand and then kicked the officer. A few minutes later, Mock broke a flagpole in half and hurled it, like a spear, at a line of officers blocking the rioters from advancing. When one officer became separated from his colleagues, Mock shoved him in the back.

            Finally, as cornered USCP and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were retreating, Mock shoved one of the USCP officers to the ground. Mock then picked up two USCP riot shields and passed them back to other rioters, depriving retreating officers of vital protection as the violent crowd pursued them.

            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 Offices for the District of Minnesota and the Middle District of Florida.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, who identified Mock as #298 in their seeking information photos, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police, with significant assistance provided by the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office.

            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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Kentucky man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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.

            William Stover, 46, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with civil disorder, a felony offense. In addition, Stover is charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings. Stover made his initial appearance in the Western District of Kentucky.

            According to court documents, Stover was identified on closed-circuit television (“CCTV”) footage and police body-worn camera footage at the U.S. Capitol building and grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. In this footage, it is alleged that Stover pushed against a police line and aided other rioters in fighting against police officers near an entrance to the Capitol building at the lower west terrace tunnel.

            Court documents say that at approximately 3:16 p.m., Stover arrived at the tunnel entrance and joined with others in a push again the police line. Stover and the other rioters were eventually expelled from the tunnel entrance by police; however, court documents say that Stover and others returned to once again push against police at the tunnel entrance.

            According to court documents, Stover grabbed onto the side of the tunnel entrance in an effort to leverage his weight and to push against police. Stover then grabbed ahold of the side of the tunnel, hoisted himself up, and reached over the heads of the other rioters to grab the helmet of the nearest police officer.

            A short while later, court documents state that Stover received a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield which he then handed to another rioter who climbed up behind him. That rioter took the shield from Stover and used it to attack police. Stover remained at the entrance to the tunnel as the rioters fought police for approximately twenty more minutes. At about 4:10 p.m., he was pushed away from the mouth of the tunnel by the crowd.

            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 Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Louisville and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by 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.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Alexus Cameron, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday to 84 months in prison for distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge Emily Odom, and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Cameron pleaded guilty on February 14, 2023.

            According to court documents, in August of 2021, Camero met an individual online whom he believed was the father of a nine-year-old boy. In reality, this individual was a law enforcement officer, acting in an undercover capacity. Camero exchanged several messages with the undercover officer, and he expressed an interest in sexually abusing the child. At one point during this online chat, Camero asked the undercover officer if he and a friend could borrow the child for a night. 

            Throughout the course of this exchange, Camero sent the undercover two videos depicting the sexual abuse of very young children. On November 30, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Camero’s residence. When interviewed by law enforcement, the defendant admitted to chatting with the undercover and to distributing videos that depicted the sexual abuse of young boys. The defendant also admitted that he had additional videos depicting child pornography saved on his cell phone. Law enforcement recovered Camero’s cellular telephone and found at several images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children confirmed that some of the children depicted in these images have been identified and rescued by law enforcement.

            Following his prison term, Camero will be place on supervised release for 15 years and must register as a sex offender for a period of 25 years. He will be ordered to pay restitution to the minor victims who are depicted in the child sex abuse images and videos that he distributed and possessed. 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Acting SAC Odom, and Interim Chief Benedict commended the work of the agents and detectives who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S, Attorneys Amy Larson and Rachel Forman who investigated and prosecuted the case.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.