A Kentucky man was found guilty Thursday in D.C. for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
A jury convicted Israel Easterday, 21, of Munfordville, Kentucky, of nine charges — which included blasting a U.S. Capitol Police officer “in the face with pepper spray, injuring and temporarily incapacitating the officer. A few minutes later, the officer collapsed, which enabled another rioter to steal his baton,” the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Easterday was given a second can of pepper spray by another rioter, authorities said. He again used it to spray officers, hitting one in the face and temporarily incapacitating them as well.
After rioters breached the East Rotunda doors, Easterday made his way inside and up the gallery stairs to the Capitol building’s third floor, where he wandered around until leaving shortly before 3 p.m.
He was arrested in Miami on Dec. 8, 2022.
Easterday was convicted of six felonies: civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; entering and remaining in restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
He was also convicted of three misdemeanors: disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Easterday is set to be sentenced on April 1, 2024.
Officials said Easterday had made his way to Washington on Jan. 6 “because he was upset about what he perceived as government corruption related to the 2020 presidential election.”
He joined the mob that stormed the Capitol while wearing a black beanie with the logo “I ♥ TRUMP” and carrying a confederate battle flag.
To date, more than 1,100 people have been charged with crimes related to the attack on the Capitol. Approximately 800 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries or judges after trials in Washington. Over 650 have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds of them receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from three days to 22 years, according to an Associated Press analysis of court records.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
