WASHINGTON – An Ohio man was found guilty today of felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including the theft of an ornate coat rack from the Capitol Building. His and others’ actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, was found guilty of a total of six charges following a trial in the District of Columbia. The jury found him guilty of one felony, obstruction of an official proceeding, and five misdemeanor offenses. The misdemeanor charges include theft of government property; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.
A co-defendant, Robert Anthony Lyon, 28, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, pleaded guilty on March 14, 2022, to misdemeanor charges of theft of government property and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. He is awaiting sentencing.
According to the government’s evidence, Thompson and Lyon went to the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6 following a rally near the Washington Monument. At approximately 2 p.m., both entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol. Thompson, wearing a bulletproof vest, unlawfully entered the building, then proceeded to the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office and stole a bottle of bourbon. After being directed out of the building by U.S. Capitol Police Officers, Thompson re-entered, this time with Lyon. Thompson stole an ornate coat rack from the same Parliamentarian’s office. He sent a photo to Lyon of himself posing with the coat rack, as well as a video that showed him yelling, “Woooo!!” and additionally showed a ransacked office. Thompson later approached Lyon carrying the coat rack. At one point, Lyon sent a message to Thompson stating, “We need to get the f— out with this trophy.” Later that evening, after watching violence at the North Doors and Lower West Terrace Tunnel, Thompson was stopped by United States Capitol Police officers while waiting for an Uber while still on Capitol grounds. Lyon was arrested, while Thompson fled, leaving the ornate coat rack behind.
Donald Trump duped another gullible into doing something dumb? Raise your hand if you gave Donald money?
“Samuel Shamansky, an attorney for Thompson, told jurors Tuesday that his client had “snatched the coat rack, foolishly,” and that there was “no question” that his client took part in the “horrible” event on Jan. 6 that interrupted a “solemn and sacred proceeding.”
But, Shamansky argued, the “genesis” of the attack began months before Jan. 6, and responsibility fell at the feet of Trump, who “authorized this assault” on the Capitol.
“It was a plot, it was a scheme, it was a conspiracy … that began at the highest levels of our government,” Shamansky argued.
Thompson and other “vulnerable” Trump supporters like him “believed the lies that were fed to them” in the months leading up to Jan. 6, Shamansky argued. Thompson was “predisposed” to “this lunacy,” Shamansky said, and losing his job at the beginning of the Covid pandemic left him sitting at home to digest the “garbage” that Trump and his supporters were spreading.
“This is the garbage that Dustin Thompson is listening to,” Shamansky argued. “Donald Trump encouraged people like Dustin Thompson to storm the Capitol.”
Thompson was arrested on Jan. 25, 2021, in Ohio.
Thompson is to be sentenced on July 20, 2022. The charge of obstruction of an official proceeding carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The charges of theft of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, each carry statutory maximums of a year. The charges of disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building each carry up to six months of incarceration. A federal district court judge 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 with assistance from the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Cincinnati Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 15 months since Jan. 6, 2021, nearly 800 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 250 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.
