Ex-police officer found guilty in second Capitol riot jury trial
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Thomas Robertson, a former police officer in Rocky Mount, Virginia, was found guilty.
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Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
On Tuesday, an off-duty police officer who penetrated the US Capitol during Jan. 6, 2021, attack was found guilty of various felonies, a significant triumph for prosecutors in one of the first cases pertaining to the attack.
A federal jury in the District of Columbia convicted Thomas Robertson of Rocky Mount, Virginia, guilty of all six charges he faces, including impeding an official proceeding of the United States Congress, according to court documents.
At a later court session, a judge will impose a punishment on Robertson.
Read more: Ex-cop faces trial over involvement in Capitol attack
At the time of the Capitol riot, Robertson was a sergeant in the Rocky Mount police department.
Robertson entered the Capitol with Jacob Fracker, another former police officer who pled guilty to similar crimes last month.
Fracker testified on behalf of the prosecution in its case against Robertson after reaching a plea deal with the government last month.
Around 800 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Robertson was the second defendant to take a chance on a jury trial.
After prosecutors said Robertson was still purchasing firearms and ammo online after his detention, a judge ordered Robertson to be kept in jail pending trial last year.
Read more: Trump Jr. text shows ideas to overturn 2020 election
Prosecutors also won the first jury trial, which took place on January 6. A different jury in the District of Columbia convicted Guy Reffitt of Texas guilty of all five felony charges he faced last month, including bringing a gun onto Capitol grounds and interrupting an official proceeding.
A federal court issued the first acquittal in a criminal prosecution related to the Jan. 6 attack last week.
Following a non-jury trial, US District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case against a New Mexico man charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
McFadden accepted arguments by the defendant, Matthew Martin, that he did not know he was breaking the law when he entered the Capitol complex.
See more: The Capitol riots, one year later
Thousands of Trump fans rushed the Capitol, assaulting police and sending politicians fleeing for their lives after Trump repeated his bogus claims that his election failure was the product of widespread fraud in a furious rally near the White House.
Multiple courts, state election officials, and members of Trump's administration have rejected that claim as untrue.
