Ex-Cop Who Stormed Capitol Convicted on All Counts in Second-Ever Jan. 6 Trial
TWO DOWN…
A Washington, D.C., jury has found a former police officer guilty on all six charges he faced for his participation in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, Thomas Robertson, a 49-year-old Virginia resident, became the second person convicted in a Jan. 6 jury trial, one in which prosecutors described him having “gleefully put himself in the thick of the initial round of rioters who set off hours of chaos inside the Capitol.” The charges against Robertson included obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with police during a riot, destroying evidence, and trespassing and disorderly conduct at the Capitol while carrying a deadly weapon. Though initially released after his arrest in January 2021, the former officer’s bond was revoked after it was found he had stockpiled nearly three dozen firearms, showing that he had been “further radicalized” while awaiting trial, according to a judge. Despite the defense’s argument that the wooden stick Robertson had carried inside the Capitol had been a walking aid and not a weapon, it took a jury less than two days to reach a verdict. More than 800 people have been arrested so far in relation to the Capitol riot; last month, Guy Reffitt became the first to be convicted.