WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2022) A Maryland man, who was one of the first people to enter the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, has been found guilty on a felony charge of destruction of government property and on six misdemeanor offenses, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday.
"On Jan. 6, 2021, (Nicholas) Rodean illegally entered the grounds of the Capitol. He was part of a group of rioters who pushed past law enforcement officers stationed on terrace stairs next to scaffolding set up on the northwest side of the building," the Justice Department said in a press release. "After getting to the top of the stairs, this group pushed past additional officers and bike racks, reaching an area just outside a door to the Senate Wing of the Capitol Building."
Some protesters began attacking the door and adjacent large windows of the Capital building and Rodean joined in, breaking glass in a window next to a door with a flagpole and a small round object, then climbed inside the building, the release said.
Rodean, 28, of Frederick, Maryland, and a small group of protesters ran up two flights of stairs chasing a Capitol Police officer and walked along a hallway, known as the Ohio Clock corridor, near the Senate Chamber, where he stayed for more than half an hour. He caused more than $1,000 in damage to the windows - a felony offense.
Rodean was arrested on January 13, 2021, in Washington, DC and will be sentenced on October 21. The felony destruction of government property charge carries a statutory maximum of ten years in prison and potential financial penalties. The six misdemeanor offenses carry a combined statutory maximum of 54 months in prison and potential financial penalties.
