Florida Man Found Guilty Of Two Felonies In Connection With Jan 6 Attack

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Florida man William Rogan Reid was found guilty Tuesday of seven criminal charges connected to his participation in last year’s Capitol riot, and collectively, the offenses of which he was found guilty come with up to 44 years in prison, although a shorter sentence seems likely.

Reid wasn’t charged with assaulting police, but his charges included two felonies, including obstruction of an official proceeding and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a record, document, or other objects. The latter offense, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison just like the obstruction charge, was connected to Reid disabling and concealing his cellphone after law enforcement officers arrived to his residence early last year to arrest him. At the Capitol, Reid went inside the building, like most rioters upon whom the Justice Department is focusing in its wide-ranging investigation. Before arriving at the building, Reid shared a video via social media featuring a piece of superimposed text that said “Time to storm the Capitol,” according to a court filing. Thus, he’s another one of the numerous rioters who rather directly laid out what they were doing or had done in remarks via social media.

Reid recorded videos of himself participating in the Capitol assault throughout the afternoon. Although he evidently didn’t personally and directly assault individual police officers to the point of prosecutors concluding a charge of assaulting police was warranted, he was in portions of the crowd that confronted police and forced their way closer to the building, and the trend continued inside. Among other actions Reid took that day, he also went to help rioters get inside the Capitol building through a Senate Wing door, although the door was opened for the group outside before Reid, who was on the inside of the building, made it there. “We just wanted to storm Congress and stop the certification,” Reid said in what available info seemingly indicates was a message via social media the day after the riot — seemingly confirming the kind of intent needed for a conviction of obstruction of an official proceeding. Reid’s sentencing is scheduled for early December. Inside a bathroom near the portion of the Capitol known as the Speaker’s Lobby, Reid also damaged a television worth nearly $450.