Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor 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 presidential election.

            Michael St. Pierre, 46, of Swansea, Massachusetts, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of civil disorder. In addition, St. Pierre is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including destruction of government property; knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

            St. Pierre was arrested today in Fall River and will make his initial appearance in the District of Massachusetts.

            According to court documents, St. Pierre traveled from his home in Massachusetts to Washington, D.C, and participated in the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. While walking towards the Capitol grounds, St. Pierre can be heard stating that the Capitol is “where the meeting ground is. Hopefully, they’ll bust through, and I’ll join them to rush the Capitol, to grab Nancy Pelosi by the hair.”

            Court documents state that video footage taken from that day depicts a man, later identified as St. Pierre, throwing an object through the open exterior doors at a set of interior doors of the Capitol building. Video footage also shows U.S. Capitol Police officers attempting to manage the crowd outside the doors and finally retreating to the interior entryway of the building as the crowd became more violent. Once the officers were inside, several protesters, including St. Pierre, threw objects at the doors that the officers were behind.

            St. Pierre is also seen encouraging others to assist him as he joins a group of rioters pushing against a police line. In another open-source video, court documents say that St. Pierre is seen encouraging rioters to enter the Capitol building through a megaphone, stating, “We need everybody, let’s get in the Capitol.”

            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 Massachusetts.  

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Boston Field Office. 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 — Two men from Florida and Illinois were arrested on 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 presidential election.

            William Bierbrodt, 55, of St. Cloud, Florida, and Joseph Bierbrodt, 54, of Sheridan, Illinois, were charged in a complaint filed in the District of Columbia and unsealed today.

            William Bierbrodt is charged with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. In addition, he 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; physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building or grounds; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; and willfully injure or depredate any property of the United States.

            Joseph Bierbrodt is charged with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and a second felony offense of assault on a federal officer or on a person assisting a federal officer. Joseph is charged with additional misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; physical violence in a restricted building or ground; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; and physical violence in a Capitol building or grounds.

            William Bierbrodt was arrested in St. Cloud, Florida, and made his initial appearance in the Middle District of Florida. Joseph Bierbrodt was arrested in Sheridan, Illinois, and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of Illinois. William and Joseph are brothers and were arrested on July 26, 2023.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:41 p.m., CCTV footage and other open-source videos depict a man, later identified as William Bierbrodt, using his cane to break a window on the Senate Wing fire door and unlatch the locked door, letting in other rioters. Court documents state that Joseph Bierbrodt stood by with his back to the door while William repeatedly hit the window with his cane. The Bierbrodts then entered the Senate Wing through the previously unlocked door, where they and other rioters encountered law enforcement officers attempting to push back rioters and close the door.

            Court documents say that after breaching the door, Joseph assaulted a U.S. Capitol Police officer by slamming the officer against a wall. The brothers and other rioters then moved further into the Senate Wing and were met again by a line of police officers. These officers deployed OC spray to prevent the rioters from advancing further.

            According to court documents, Joseph then turned around and exited the building at approximately 2:44 p.m. At approximately 3:02 p.m., Joseph was photographed assisting his brother with his exit from the Senate Wing. 

            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 and the Northern District of Illinois.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington, Tampa, and Chicago 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

Defendant Sexually Abused a Minor Child Over a Six-Month Period

            WASHINGTON –Mikeale Frazier, 24, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced, on July 25, 2023, to 10 years in prison for first degree child sexual abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Linden, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Frazier pleaded guilty on October 25, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered 10 years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Frazier sexually abused a fourteen-year-old minor child for approximately six months. When a relative of the minor victim told Frazier to stay away from the victim due to her age, Frazier continued to sexually abuse the minor victim. Frazier also recorded a video of his sexual abuse of the minor victim.

            Frazier was arrested on June 21, 2021, and has been in custody since.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. 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.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, Acting Special Agent in Linden, and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force as well as the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division.  They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Alexis Spencer-Anderson, Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Janani Iyengar.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            A Kentucky man was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of two felony and seven misdemeanor charges related to 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.

            Chad Barrett Jones, 44, of Mount Washington, Kentucky, was found guilty of all nine charges against him following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Nov. 8, 2023.

            Jones was convicted of civil disorder; obstruction of an official proceeding; destruction of property belonging to the United States; entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a capitol building; act of physical violence in the capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building.

            According to the government’s evidence, Jones traveled from his home in Kentucky to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and other protests. After attending the rally, Jones made his way to the Capitol building and unlawfully entered the restricted grounds. Jones then climbed the scaffolding on the Lower West Terrace and waved a blue flag at the crowd.

            Court documents say that at approximately 2:34 p.m., after rioters had breached police lines, Jones entered the Capitol building through the Upper west Terrace door. Once inside the building, Jones made his way through the Crypt, Statuary Hall, and the main door hallway to the House Chamber before joining a crowd near the Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway that connects to the House of Representatives Chamber in the U.S. Capitol.

            According to the government’s evidence, Jones was part of a large crowd that tried to breach a barricaded door to the Speaker’s Lobby. The doorway, with the words “Speaker’s Lobby” visible at the top, was being guarded by three Capitol Police officers. Chairs were among the items visible through the door’s glass panels as being used to barricade the door from the inside. Members of the crowd then shouted and gesticulated aggressively at the officers. The three officers then moved to the adjacent wall as other officers in tactical gear arrived.

            Seconds after the officers began moving away from the doorway, Jones began striking the doorway’s glass panels with the wooden flagpole of his rolled-up flag. Jones forcefully struck the door nine times with the flagpole while members of the crowd shouted, “break it down.” Jones then attempted to open the door by pulling it open with his hand. Jones was standing near the door when a woman was shot climbing through a glass panel that had been smashed out by another member of the crowd.

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

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Louisville Field Office and Washington Field Office, with assistance from 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 Georgia man was sentenced today for assaulting a law enforcement officer and obstruction of an official proceeding 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.

            Bruno Joseph Cua, 21, of Milton, Georgia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss to 12 months and one day in prison and 36 months of supervised release.

            Cua was found guilty of two felony charges, obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, interfering with, intimidating, opposing, or impeding officers, following a stipulated trial before Judge Moss in February 2023.

            According to the stipulated facts, the defendant and his parents drove from Milton, Georgia, to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021. On Jan. 6, 2021, they attended the rally at the Washington Monument, after which they walked toward the U.S. Capitol building. After arriving on the grounds of the Capitol, Cua separated from his parents, and with an asp baton in his hands, climbed the scaffolding on the west side of the building.

            Cua then entered the Capitol through the Upper West Terrace doors at approximately 2:36 p.m., past a line of United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers who were guarding the door as an alarm was blaring. Cua walked through the Rotunda, and then up the stairs to the third floor.

            While on the third floor, he walked down a hallway, tried to open multiple doors, and yelled, “This is what happens when you piss off patriots!”, Hey! Where are the swamp rats hiding?!”, and “Where are the swamp rats hiding at?”

            At approximately 2:41 p.m., Cua reached the doors to the Senate Gallery. At that time, on-duty USCP officers were attempting to lock the doors to the gallery to prevent the Senate Gallery and Senate Floor from being breached by the mob. Cua then assaulted one of the USCP officers by violently shoving him. As a result of Cua’s and the actions of others, the officers retreated from the doors without locking them. 

            At approximately 2:45 p.m., Cua rushed into the Senate Gallery and yelled in celebration, “This is our house! This is our country!” After several minutes in the Senate Gallery, he jumped from the Senate Gallery down to the Senate Floor, where he walked directly to the dais at the center of the Senate Chamber, where the President of the Senate, the Vice President of the United States, presides over the Senate. Cua then sat in the Vice President’s chair, reclined, and put his feet up on the desk. Cua spent several minutes on the Senate Floor, during which time he accessed several desks belonging to U.S. Senators and helped other rioters enter the Senate Chamber.

            Law enforcement escorted him out of the Capitol at 2:53 p.m.

            Before the attack on the Capitol, Cua made multiple statements on social media about his plans to violently interrupt the certification proceedings. After January 6, the defendant made several more statements on social media confirming his participation in the riot, the use of violence during the riot, and his belief that additional violence may be necessary in the future.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office 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.           

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