ANOTHER ONE

Former Army Ranger Robert Morss Sentenced to 5 Years for Jan. 6 Riot

Morss entered the Capitol with a posse, wearing body armor and carrying a knife sheath.

Robert Morss served three tours in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army Ranger. Now, he’s headed to jail for 66 months after he stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. A federal judge sentenced Morss on Wednesday after he was convicted in August of obstructing an official proceeding, assaulting police with a weapon and robbery. Morss entered the Capitol with a posse, wearing body armor and carrying a knife sheath, when he eventually clashed with cops and tried to penetrate the police line. At one point, Morss stole an officer’s riot shield and passed it to other rioters. At another, he climbed through a broken window and passed a chair outside. Morss’ attorney Nicholas Smith acknowledged his client’s military service and prior good societal behavior in a pre-sentence report. “Morss did not direct the crowd to the Capitol Building,” Smith wrote. “Nor did he foresee one forming. Like hundreds of others in the area, he engaged in criminal conduct in an unprecedented scene of chaos.” Morss was a substitute teacher in a suburb of Pittsburgh, and had no prior criminal history.