Armed Jan 6 Rioter Jailed By Feds For Assaulting Capitol Police

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Indiana resident and Capitol rioter Mark Andrew Mazza has been caught and charged for participating in the assault on law enforcement who were trying to defend the Capitol that day — and for bringing a loaded gun to the premises, which he lost hold of while there and later falsely reported to have been stolen out of his car in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, Mazza’s charges include illegal possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon — with that last charge alone apparently coming with a potential of up to 20 years in prison, if convicted. Mazza is being held in custody ahead of further proceedings.

The revolver that Mazza left behind at the Capitol contained two hollow-point rounds and three shotgun shells. While at the Capitol, Mazza held open doors to allow for the entrance of other rioters to the building, and he later swung a baton at police, yelling: “This is our… house. We own this house.” Actually, they don’t. As summarized by the Indianapolis Star, Mazza admitted to federal agents that ‘he participated in the “Stop the Steal” rally but tried to stop people from breaking windows’ — but if he was so concerned about decorum, then why was he swinging and yelling at police? Incredibly, Mazza insisted to agents that he is nonviolent — despite the fact that he engaged in physical conflict with police officers while at the Capitol.

A press release from the Justice Department also notes that, at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, Mazza ‘participated in “heave-ho” efforts to apply significant physical force and pressure on the officers.’ It’s there that D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges was infamously, violently crushed by the riot crowd as Trump’s frenzied supporters attempted to make their way into the building and access members of Congress. Again: all of these details make Mazza’s claim of being nonviolent only more ridiculous. Trump himself, though, is taking a different tactic — he has repeatedly and publicly defended the actions of those at the Capitol that day.