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Third Convicted of Misdemeanor Charges
June 13, 2024 – WASHINGTON – Two men, one from New York and one from California, were convicted on June 11, 2024, of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. A third man from New York was convicted of misdemeanor charges. Their 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 2020 presidential election.
A federal jury in the District of Columbia found Gregory Purdy, 26, of Hopewell Junction, New York, and Robert Turner, 42, from the Los Angeles area, California, guilty of multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses. In addition, the jury found Matthew Purdy, 25, also of Hopewell Junction, guilty of misdemeanor offenses.
Specifically, Purdy was convicted of six felony offenses, including three counts of civil disorder, two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Purdy was also convicted of six misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Robert Turner was convicted of three felony offenses, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assaulting, resetting, or impeding certain officers. Turner was also convicted of six misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Finally, the jury found Matthew Purdy guilty of two misdemeanor offenses, including, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth will sentence the men on October 18, 2024.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, the three men traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021. That afternoon, the three men made their way to the Capitol and unlawfully entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol grounds. Video footage shows the three men amongst a group standing outside the U.S. Capitol, opposite a group of officers attempting to protect the building.
At approximately 2:01 p.m., video footage shows Gregory Purdy in a crowd pushing a police line and making contact with officers. The three men overran a police barricade at the top of a set of stairs leading to the Upper West Terrace. The three men entered the Capitol at approximately 2:13 p.m. via the Senate Wing doors and surged into the building. The men then walked through the Senate side hallways of the Capitol building with other rioters before exiting at approximately 2:16 p.m.
Turner and Gregory Purdy wandered through the restricted Capitol grounds on the East Plaza and West side of the Capitol. They eventually ended up on a set of stairs leading to the Upper West Terrace, and, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Turner and Gregory Purdy ran forward into officers, assaulting two officers as they pushed their way into a police line.
The FBI arrested the Purdys on Nov. 10, 2021, in New York. Turner was arrested on Nov. 22, 2021, in California.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting these cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Central District of California provided valuable assistance.
These cases were investigated by the FBI’s New York, Los Angeles, and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 41 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,450 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 500 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
