Month: July 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – An Ohio man pleaded guilty today to a felony charge related to 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 2020 presidential election.

            Michael Scott Lockwood, 32, of Southington, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia to the felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 3, 2023. Lockwood faces a statutory maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Lockwood was outside the west side of the U.S. Capitol building on the northwest riser that formed part of the inaugural amphitheater. At approximately 3:47 p.m., Lockwood sent a Facebook message to another user stating, “Im on top of the capitol bro.” At 4:06 p.m., Lockwood sent another Facebook message that included a selfie of Lockwood on the northwest riser.

            At approximately 4:23 p.m., police officers used tear gas on the northwest riser, and Lockwood sent another Facebook message, stating, “They just tear gassed the F[***] out of us.” MPD officers then began to climb on top of a raised platform on the riser where a crowd of rioters, including Lockwood, were standing. Officers began clearing the platform of the rioters and attempted to move Lockwood off the platform, but Lockwood resisted.

            Court documents state that an MPD officer and a rioter were involved in an altercation when Lockwood grabbed the police officer’s baton. Lockwood then made contact with the officer’s arm and body, jumped off the raised platform, and pulled the police baton out of the officer’s hand.

            At 5:07 p.m., Lockwood sent another Facebook message stating, “Yea bro I got in a fight with the cops and s[***],” to which the other replied, “and you didn’t get arrested ???” Lockwood then replied, “No arrest I took a baton from them.”

            According to court documents, Lockwood sent a Facebook message to another user, writing, “Got me a little souvenir from wednesday.” The message included two images of a police baton.

            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 Northern District of Ohio.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Cleveland Field Office, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police.

            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 Florida couple pleaded guilty today to felony and misdemeanor charges related to 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 2020 presidential election.

            Jamie Buteau, 50, and Jennifer Buteau, 46, of Ocala, Florida, entered their guilty pleas in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 20, 2023.

            Jamie Buteau pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Jennifer Buteau pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

            According to court documents, the Buteaus traveled from their home in Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on Jan. 6, 2021. At approximately 2:25 p.m., the Buteaus entered the U.S. Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door after the door had been breached, and an adjacent window broken by a crowd of rioters. Once inside, the couple moved with a large mob to a lobby separating the Crypt from the Capitol Visitors Center.  

            As the Buteaus moved to the lobby, U.S. Capitol Police Officers attempted to establish a line to hold back the rioting mob. Court documents state that the Capitol Police Officers, overwhelmed by the rioters, began to retreat from the area and attempted to pull down a set of rolling doors that would have protected the officers and separated the lobby from the Visitors Center. As these doors were closing, the rioters blocked the doors to prevent them from closing. Jamie Buteau picked up a chair and threw it at the officers. The chair bounced off the wall and hit one officer in the arm.

            The Buteaus then walked through the Capitol building, including the Visitors Center, orientation lobby, and Crypt, before exiting through the House wing doors at approximately 2:45 p.m.

            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 Middle District of Florida.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Jamie Buteau as #188 in its seeking information photos, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and FBI’s Jacksonville 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 – An Arkansas man was sentenced today on a felony charge 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 2020 presidential election.

            Peter Francis Stager, 44, of Conway, Arkansas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras to 52 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon on Feb. 16, 2023. In addition to the prison term, Judge Contreras ordered 36 months of supervised release and restitution of $2,000.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Stager was part of a large, armed mob that attacked police officers at the Lower West Terrace entrance of the U.S. Capitol building. At 4:27 p.m., police officers had been defending the archway opening to a corridor leading from the Lower West Terrace to the interior of the Capitol building for nearly two hours, advancing and retreating as rioters fought their way into the entrance. At this time, Stager was positioned toward the bottom of a set of steps that led to the archway, carrying a flagpole with an American flag affixed.

            Stager watched as co-defendants attacked the police line and dragged a police officer, facedown and headfirst, out of the line and into the crowd of rioters. Once the others had dragged the officer into the crowd, Stager raised the flagpole that he was carrying and beat the downed police officer, striking him at least three times.

            After assaulting the police officer, Stager ascended the steps toward the archway where a second officer was lying on the ground, fending off attacks from other rioters. Stager stood over the officer and yelled, “Fuck you! Fucking traitor!”  Later in the day, Stager was filmed pointing at the Capitol building and stating, “Everybody in there is a disgrace. That entire building is filled with treasonous traitors. Death is the only remedy for what’s in that building.”  Stager went on to say that “Everybody in there is a treasonous traitor. Every single one of those Capitol law enforcement officers, death is the remedy, that is the only remedy they get.”

            Stager was arrested on Jan. 14, 2021.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office and Washington Field Office, which listed Stager as #80 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $377,453,150 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing commercial and international costs to its government contracts. Booz Allen, which is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, provides a range of management, consulting, and engineering services to the Government, as well as commercial and international customers.

            Under government contracting rules, there must be a nexus between the costs charged to a government contract and the objective of the contract. Thus, a contractor may charge to a government contract costs directly related to that contract, as well as indirect costs that benefit multiple contracts including the government contract. A contractor may not charge costs to a government contract, however, that have no relationship to that contract. This prohibition prevents government contractors from using taxpayer funds to subsidize non-government related work.

            The settlement announced today resolves allegations that from approximately 2011 to 2021, Booz Allen improperly charged costs to its government contracts and subcontracts that instead should have been billed to its commercial and international contracts. In particular, the government alleged that Booz Allen improperly allocated indirect costs associated with its commercial and international business to its government contracts and subcontracts that either had no relationship to those contracts and subcontracts or were allocated to those contracts and subcontracts in disproportionate amounts. The government further alleged that Booz Allen failed to disclose to the Government the methods by which it accounted for costs supporting its commercial and international businesses. As a result, Booz Allen obtained reimbursement from the government for the costs of commercial activities that provided no benefit to the United States.

            “This settlement, which is one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history, demonstrates that the United States will pursue even the largest companies and the most complex matters where taxpayer funds are alleged to have been pilfered,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves.  “The Justice Department is committed to ferreting out all fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs—small or large, simple or complex.” 

            “Government contractors must turn square corners when billing the government for costs under government contracts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to hold accountable contractors that knowingly overcharge the government and enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayers.”

            “DCAA appreciates the opportunity to support the Justice Department and our law enforcement partners by providing expert financial assistance regarding enforcement of the False Claims Act,” said Director Terri Dilly for the Defense Contract Audit Agency. “This interagency cooperation provides a strong safeguard for appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.”

            The settlement resolved a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by Sarah Feinberg, a former Booz Allen employee, and is captioned United States ex rel. Feinberg, v. Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Civ. A. No. 16-1911 (D.D.C.).  Ms. Feinberg will receive $69,828,832 in connection with the settlement.

            The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Contract Integrity Center, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s Operations Investigative Support Division, with assistance by agents from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Inspector Generals from the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office, Department of Homeland Security, and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

            The case was handled by Trial Attorneys Dan Schiffer and Chris Reimer of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hudak with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s Operations Investigative Support Division, in particular DCAA Auditors Igor Yegoroff, Myron Antoniw, and Tim Chase.

            The case is captioned United States ex rel. Feinberg v. Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Civ. A. No. 16-1911 (ACR) (D.D.C.). The claims alleged in the case are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Maine man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting two law enforcement officers, 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.

            Matthew Brackley, 39, of Waldoboro, Maine, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder. In addition, Brackley 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; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building; act of physical violence in the capitol grounds or buildings; and parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a capitol building.

            Brackley was arrested today in Waldoboro and made his initial appearance in the District of Maine.

            According to court documents, Brackley traveled from his home in Maine to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall. After the rally, Brackley walked to the U.S. Capitol, arriving on the west lawn at about 1:40 p.m., where a large crowd had gathered. Brackley stood in the crowd near the Lower West Terrace, where a police line had formed to keep people from advancing towards the Capitol.

            Brackley then approached a set of stairs underneath the scaffolding erected to construct the inaugural stage. Soon rioters began to climb onto the scaffolding and tore up the white tarp covering it, giving Brackley and others greater access to the stairs. Brackley and other rioters then flooded the stairs and advanced toward the Capitol.

            Brackley entered the U.S. Capitol via the Senate wing doors at approximately 2:23 p.m., only ten minutes after they were first breached. Brackley then made his way to the Crypt, where a large group of rioters had assembled and were pushing against police lines. The rioters then pushed past police and further into the Crypt.

            As Brackley and the rioters made their way through the Crypt toward the Senate Chambers, they were again stopped by police. Court records say that police instructed Brackley and others to “back up”; however, Brackley did not retreat and asked the officers where the Speaker of the House’s office was located. Brackley then turned to the crowd behind him, shouted, “Let’s go!”, leaned forward, and used both arms to push through the officers before him.  

            Brackley then led the crowd toward the Senate chamber and was again halted by police. Officers deployed chemical spray causing Brackley and other rioters to retreat from the area. Brackley exited the Capitol building at approximately 3:05 p.m.

            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 District of Maine.

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