North Texas man among 3 found guilty of assaulting police in Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot

A North Texas man is among three men found guilty Tuesday of assaulting officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

David Lee Judd, 36, of, Carrollton, was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. Both charges are felonies.

Robert Morss, 29, of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, and Geoffrey William Sills, 31, of Mechanicsville, Virginia, were also found guilty of the obstruction charge, plus assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a deadly weapon and an additional accusation of robbery, according to the Justice Department.

The three men illegally entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and “joined in the violence” that occurred in the tunnel under the Capitol’s lower west terrace, according to the news release. There, court documents say Judd and the two other men joined other rioters and fought with officers from about 2:40 to 3:19 p.m., when the the officers successfully cleared the rioters from the tunnel.

While in the tunnel, the Justice Department said, Judd waved other rioters in and participated in the “heave-ho” against the police line protecting the Capitol. He then stood directly outside the tunnel, receiving police riot shields from rioters who were inside and passing them out to other rioters.

At 3:07 p.m., Judd entered the tunnel and lit what appeared to be a firecracker, throwing it at the police line where officers were fighting with rioters in attempts to keep them out of the Capitol Building, according to the Justice Department. After law enforcement cleared the tunnel, Judd again joined rioters attempting to push against a newly established police line.

Judd faces a maximum of 28 years in prison on both charges — 20 for the obstruction charge and eight for the assault charge, according to the Department of Justice. Morss and Sills face up to 55 total years for the assault with a deadly weapon charge, which carries a maximum of 20 years; the robbery charge, which carries a maximum of 15 years; and the obstruction charge.

In the 19 months since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, more than 860 people have been arrested for crimes related to the breach. Among those, 260 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.