U.S. Capitol rioter who said he followed Trump's orders found guilty

[April 15, 2022]   By Jan Wolfe
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A jury on Thursday convicted an Ohio man who claimed he was following former President Donald Trump's orders when he looted items from U.S. Capitol during last year's riot, handing another notable win to prosecutors.

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump react to tear gas during a clash with police officers in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

A federal jury in the District of Columbia found Dustin Thompson, 38, guilty on all charges he faced, including obstruction of an official proceeding and theft of government property.

Thompson had admitted to entering the Capitol and stealing a bottle of liquor and a coat rack during the riots.

But in a novel legal strategy, Thompson argued to the jury that he was acting at Trump's behest and that the former president is ultimately responsible for the mob that stormed the Capitol.

“Besides being ordered by the president to go to the Capitol, I don’t know what I was thinking,” Thompson told the jury, according to CNN. “I was caught up in the moment.”

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who oversaw the trial, will sentence Thompson at a hearing in July. The judge ordered Thompson detained in jail until that hearing.

The U.S. Justice Department has now won all three Jan. 6 prosecutions that have gone to a jury trial. One defendant was acquitted in a non-jury trial.

About 800 people have been charged with crimes relating to the Jan. 6 attack.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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