WASHINGTON, DC – Israel Easterday, 21, of Munfordville, Kentucky, was found guilty on Thursday of nine charges stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The event disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
Easterday was convicted of six felonies: civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding 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.
U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg is set to sentence Easterday on April 1, 2024.
Evidence from the trial showed Easterday traveled from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., motivated by his perception of government corruption tied to the 2020 presidential election. He joined the mob storming the Capitol building while carrying a Confederate battle flag and wearing a black beanie marked “I ♥ TRUMP.”
At around 2:30 p.m., Easterday was among rioters outside the Capitol building’s East Rotunda doors, attempting to force entry by using objects like flagpoles to smash windows. He sprayed one U.S. Capitol Police officer in the face with pepper spray, incapacitating the officer temporarily and causing him to collapse.
Easterday later used a second can of pepper spray on another group of officers, hitting at least one in the face. After the breach of the East Rotunda doors, he entered the Capitol building, pulling other rioters in with him. He climbed the Gallery Stairs to the third floor before exiting at approximately 2:51 p.m.