Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay 

Defendant Was Armed With a Knife, Joined in Chase of Officer to Just Outside Senate Chamber 

September 23, 2022 - WASHINGTON – An Iowa man was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Douglas Austin Jensen, 43, of Des Moines, Iowa, was found guilty by a jury of five felony offenses, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer and obstruction of an official proceeding. He also was found guilty of two misdemeanor offenses.

According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, Jensen illegally entered the U.S. Capitol grounds at approximately 2 p.m. He wore a distinctive black shirt with a large “Q” emblazeond on the chest. He scaled a wall on the West Front of the Capitol, watched as a mob broke the windows and doors at the Senate Wing entrance, and was the 10th person inside the Capitol Building.

Once he got inside, Jensen hastily rounded a few corners until he found himself in a crowd that halted when they encountered a Capitol Police officer by the East Grand Stairs. He squeezed himself to the front of the pack to face off with the officer. Ignoring commands to stop, he then chased the officer up the East Grand Stairs to the Ohio Clock corridor just outside the Senate Chamber. There, he demanded that officers “back up” and that they arrest Vice President Pence. Jensen was forced to leave the Capitol after about 40 minutes, but reentered through the East Rotunda Doors, and was again forced to leave the building.

In his pocket was a knife with a three-inch blade.

Jensen was arrested on Jan. 8, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jensen was found guilty of five felony offenses: assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer, obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon. He also was found guilty of the misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Jensen is to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2022. The felony charges carry a total statutory maximum of 53 years in prison and potential financial penalties. The misdemeanor offenses carry a combined statutory maximum of one year of incarceration and potential financial penalties. The Court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Jensen as #44 in its seeking information photos and the FBI’s Omaha Field Office and its Des Moines Resident Agency. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 20 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 265 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. 

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.