West Jordan man pleads guilty to felony assault charge related to Capitol riot
Aug 25, 2023, 3:38 PM
FILE - Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. A West Jordan man pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony assault charge related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A West Jordan man pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony assault charge related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to an FBI press release, Justin Dee Adams, 49, pleaded guilty in Washington D.C. to one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding certain officers.
Adams and two others, according to court documents, traveled from Utah to Washington to protest the 2020 election of then-President-elect Joe Biden. Just prior to this, Adams reportedly posted a photo online showing him and the two other individuals posing in front of a vehicle. The post said the trio had begun the “road trip” to Washington to “smack a couple politicians around … maybe.”
According to the release, following a rally, Adams joined a group of people that had stormed the Upper West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol. He was wearing a body-worn camera, which reportedly documented much of his activity.
According to the FBI, a video from Adam’s body-worn camera shows that at approximately 2:04 p.m., he confronted a police line blocking the group from entering the Capitol. It reportedly shows Adams rushing police and hitting an officer in the head twice. The officer was wearing a helmet.
Video shows West Jordan man rushing the U.S. Capitol
At 2:13 p.m., the FBI said the video showed Adams grabbing a metal bicycle rack, which the officers were using as a barricade. An officer reportedly tried to prevent Adams from doing this. The FBI said Adams responded by throwing a plastic bottle at the officer. Following this, he and another individual repeatedly moved the bicycle rack away from police.
Later that day, Adams posted that he “safely made it out of Washington D.C. before the lockdown, and before the gunfire of the capitol police. Got a little roughed up but the politicians are no longer meeting the standards We the People require our elected officials to meet. Great times are coming, but difficulty will be required before.”
Adams was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 19 2022 on one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding certain officers. A judge has set his sentencing for Dec. 8, 2023.
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