WASHINGTON – An Alabama man was sentenced on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, on a felony assault charge related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Bobby Wayne Russell, 49, of Falkville, Ala., was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and 24 months of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth. Russell pleaded guilty on June 26, 2023, in the District of Columbia to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Russell was among rioters confronting officers at a line of bike rack barricades on the southwest side of the Capitol grounds. Russell resisted officers’ efforts to get him to back away from the barricade. He held a section of bike rack pressed between his upper arm and side, clinging to it despite being doused with OC spray. When the barricade broke apart due to the involvement of other rioters, Russell grabbed the jacket of a Metropolitan Police Department officer, pulling the officer down with him as he fell headlong down a short flight of stairs
Later that day, at about 4:20 pm, law enforcement officers formed a line and attempted to clear the area near the Senate wing doors. Russell refused orders to leave the area and pushed his back and buttocks into the riot shields of several officers. He then turned around to face one officer and declared, “There’s more of us than you guys, you’re gonna lose.”
The FBI arrested Russell on Aug. 24, 2022, in Falkville.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and Washington Field Office, which identified Russell as #492 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 34 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,200 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.