Copeland guilty of breaching U.S. Capitol

May 8—WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge on Wednesday found Shawnee Township resident Jonathan Copeland guilty of nine counts related to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The verdicts were handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich following a one-day bench trial. Copeland had previously waived his right to a trial by jury.

Charges on which Copeland was convicted include two counts of civil disorder; assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a deadly weapon; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; 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.

Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 18 in the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. Friedrich ordered a pre-sentence report be prepared.

Prosecutors said Copeland was among the thousands of protesters who illegally entered the Capitol building during a so-called "Stop the Steal" rally intended to halt the certification by the U.S. Congress of the results of the November 2020 election that saw Democrat Joe Biden defeat sitting president Donald Trump.

Trump said the election was rigged and espouses that belief even today.

Federal officials arrested Copeland in August 2022 for allegedly shoving a large framed metal "Trump" sign into officers during the breach of the U.S. Capitol.