Month: October 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Washington state man was found guilty in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, of seven charges related to his conduct 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 2020 presidential election.

            Marc Anthony Bru, 43, of Vancouver, Washington, was found guilty of all charges against him following a bench trial before U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg. Judge Boasberg found Bru guilty of two felonies, including obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Bru was convicted of five misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; entering and remaining in a gallery of Congress; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Bru—a member of the “Proud Boys” organization—marched with a group of approximately 20 other “Proud Boys” to the U.S. Capitol. As he approached the Capitol, Bru trampled over the downed barricades at the Peace Circle and then entered the Capitol’s West Plaza, where he angrily confronted riot gear-clad police officers attempting to hold the mob at bay.

            When police officers tried to use bicycle rack barricades to force the rioters backward, Bru charged the barricades, grabbed one, and used his entire body weight to prevent the police from moving it forward. An officer tried to spray Bru with a chemical irritant to get him to let go, but Bru ducked and avoided it, leading another officer to force Bru to retreat. Later, despite the blaring alarm, Bru entered the Capitol through an emergency exit and made his way to the recently evacuated Senate chamber, where he took celebratory pictures in the gallery. Approximately seven weeks later, Bru sent an encrypted message to an aspiring “Proud Boy” in which Bru detailed his plans to conduct an armed insurrection against the Oregon state government, modeled on the January 6 Capitol riot.

            Bru was arrested on March 30, 2021, in Vancouver, Washington.

            Bru is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2024.

            All charges carry potential financial penalties. The Court 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. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Washington and the Middle District of Florida.

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

            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 398 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 – Ravel Mills, 29, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury yesterday of second-degree murder while armed and other charges in the April 2020 fatal shooting of 28-year-old Toussaunt Tarquann Strong in Southeast D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Mills was also found guilty of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and carrying a pistol without a license. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Michael K. O’Keefe will sentence Mills on January 12, 2024. Mills faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 55 years in prison for both crimes. Under the Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, however, his sentencing range for the second-degree murder while armed is 12 to 24 years in prison.

            According to the evidence presented at trial, shortly before 7:00 pm on April 18, 2020, Toussaunt Strong was outside his father’s home in the Shipley Terrace neighborhood. Mills encountered Mr. Strong after Mills exited a nearby home and then pointed a weapon at Mr. Strong. In response, Mr. Strong fled. Mills then chased Mr. Strong up the 3400 block of 24th Street SE. As Mills got closer to Mr. Strong, Mills pulled his jacket hood over his head, pointed his gun, and shot Mr. Strong multiple times. Video cameras captured the chase, however, the shooting itself was not captured on camera nor were there any eyewitnesses to the murder. The Government presented video surveillance, circumstantial, and motive evidence in securing the conviction.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Donovan; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Korba who investigated and indicted the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miles Janssen and Andrea Antonelli who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Florida man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He and others helped to disrupt a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to count the electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election.