Month: September 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Hachikosela Muchimba, 43, of Washington, D.C., was charged by criminal complaint with mail theft and bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Imari Niles, of the U.S. Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General Trevor R. Nelson, of the Department of Treasury-Inspector General for Tax Administration, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.

            According to the criminal complaint, between October 2021 and March 2023,  Muchimba, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, executed a scheme to steal checks from the U.S. mail and direct those funds into a bank account under his control. Muchimba would remove the name of the proper payee and replace it with his own name. Many of these misappropriated checks were U.S. Treasury checks.  He is seen on bank surveillance removing the proceeds from ATM machines. The total amount of the checks that were fraudulently deposited into Muchimba’s accounts was $1,697,909.52. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Muchimba’s personal residence on March 29, 2023. In the course of that search, law enforcement recovered an ATM receipt that reflected a deposit of a U.S. Treasury Check in the amount of $415,173.53.

            The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison; and for mail theft is five years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence would be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney John Borchert, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            A criminal 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 – A New York man was sentenced today on two felony charges 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.

            Jonathan J. Munafo, 36, of Albany, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to 33 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

            Munafo pleaded guilty to two felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder on April 21, 2023.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Munafo arrived at the U.S. Capitol building grounds in Washington, D.C., along with a large group of protestors that had made their way toward the building following the former President’s speech at the Ellipse. Munafo then made his way to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel and pushed and cajoled his way inside at about 2:57 p.m. Munafo exited the Tunnel but then reappeared with a gas mask and made his way to the front of the line of rioters.

            Munafo then left the Tunnel and moved to an area just south. From there, he saw members of the mob steal a shield away from police and cheered along with other rioters. Munafo then made several attempts to scale the wall of the Capitol building next to the Tunnel. He used two different poles to strike the window of a Capitol office approximately 13 times. Munafo often looked back at the crowd, shouting, chanting, and attempting to rile up the other rioters.  

            Later, at about 3:21 p.m., Munafo punched a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officer twice while attempting to rip the officer’s riot shield away. The second punch from Munafo appears to have caused the officer’s head to snap back. Munafo then took the officer’s riot shield and slunk away into the crowd, leaving the officer without a shield and vulnerable to attacks from other rioters.

            Munafo was arrested on April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Florida.

            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 Middle District of Florida, where Munafo was arrested.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Jacksonville and Washington Field Offices, who listed Munafo as Assault on a Federal Officer (AFO) #170 in their seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. 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 – Anthony Glenmore, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 37 months in prison and 36 months’ supervised release for possession of a loaded firearm and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

            Glenmore pleaded guilty in April 2023.  According to court documents, on December 17, 2022, in the 2000 block of Georgia Avenue, Northwest, MPD officers, patrolling in a marked police vehicle, saw Glenmore walking south toward U Street, carrying a camouflaged backpack. The officers pulled alongside the defendant, rolled down the car window and asked the defendant if he had a gun in the backpack. The defendant denied that he had a gun and, when asked a second time, started walking away at a fast pace. One of the police officers then called out to the defendant, exited the vehicle, and started chasing the defendant who began running away. As the officer was chasing the defendant, he yelled for the defendant to drop the gun. The defendant then dropped the backpack which the officer picked up as the defendant tried to scale a building. When the officer unzipped the backpack he saw a firearm and wallet which contained the defendant’s identification.

            The recovered firearm (Black, Intrac Arms, HS2000) contained 9-millimeter ammunition and had 14 rounds in a magazine that had the capacity to hold 16 rounds.

            The defendant has been detained since December 17, 2022.

            This case was investigated by the MPD and ATF as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.

            It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Maryland man was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. 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 2020 presidential election.

            Rodney Kenneth Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to 60 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

            Milstreed pleaded guilty on April 14, 2023, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon and receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm, both felonies, and assault by striking, beating, or wounding, a misdemeanor.

            During the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Boasberg found that Milstreed’s conduct warranted a sentencing enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines provision for felony offenses involving terrorism because his crimes were calculated to influence or affect the conduct of the government by intimidation or coercion and to retaliate against government conduct. As part of his plea agreement, Milstreed agreed that this sentencing enhancement applied and agreed that his conduct was, in fact, calculated to influence government action by intimidation and coercion.

            According to court documents, before the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Milstreed planned to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall rally in Washington, D.C., to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Court documents say that Milstreed attempted to recruit friends to join him at the rally, procured a wooden club, injected steroids for several weeks, and worked out to get “jacked” ahead of January 6th. Milstreed indicated to others that he was prepared to “crack some skulls” at the Capitol.

            On the morning of January 6, Milstreed took the train from his home in Maryland to Washington, D.C., carrying a wooden pick handle, approximately 4 feet long, with a blue “Trump” flag attached. Shortly before 1:00 p.m., Milstreed made his way to the restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol and was behind the initial group of rioters who breached the police line at the Pennsylvania Avenue walkway. He then made his way to the front of the crowd at the West Plaza barricade, where he broke through the police line.

            Shortly after 1:00 p.m., Milstreed and a large group of rioters swarmed the Upper West Plaza and attempted to overcome a group of officers who had formed a police line. Between approximately 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., Milstreed engaged with the crowd in an effort to break through the police barriers and eventually succeeded and made his way to the Upper West Terrace within yards of the entrance to the Capitol. During the fighting, Milstreed grabbed and yanked on a bike rack barrier fence the police were using in an attempt to prevent the mob from advancing further toward the Capitol. Milstreed also located a smoke grenade the police had deployed to disburse the crowd and threw it back into the police line.

            While Milstreed was on the Upper West Plaza, shortly after 1:00 p.m., court documents say that he forcibly assaulted a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers by throwing his wooden pick handle, with the flag still attached, into the line of U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers attempting to prevent the crowd from advancing. The pick handle hit a USCP officer and glanced off the officer’s helmet.

            In addition to the assault on police, Milstreed assaulted an Associated Press journalist on the Upper West Plaza. Here, Milstreed took notice of an individual in the crowd dressed in black, wearing a helmet-style gas mask and a lanyard with Associated Press lettering and carrying at least one large professional camera. This individual, a photographer for the Associated Press, was attacked by rioters in the area. Milstreed was one of the first to assault this individual and, in doing so, committed an act of striking, beating, or wounding the victim.

            Specifically, Milstreed grabbed the photographer’s backpack and yanked him down a set of steps to the Lower West Plaza. After the victim stumbled to the bottom of the stairs, Milstreed shoved him and advanced toward him threateningly. Additional rioters surrounded the victim and continued the assault, dragging him through the crowd, grabbing his media identification lanyard and his face and neck.

            After the riot, Milstreed sent messages to friends celebrating his participation in the riot and his assaults on law enforcement and media members. Around 8:00 p.m. that evening, Milstreed told one individual, “We f— them federal cops up. They all ran when we got physical. LMFAO[.]” He then added, “Time for war.”

            Milstreed was arrested on May 24, 2022.

            This case was 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 Districts of Maryland and Colorado.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Baltimore, Denver, and Washington Field Offices. Milstreed was identified by FBI Baltimore as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #156 on the FBI’s seeking information photos.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigations are ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.