Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay
June 24, 2024 - WASHINGTON – A Tennessee man pleaded guilty on June 21, 2024, to a felony and misdemeanor charge related to his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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 2020 presidential election.
Allan Jennings, 57, of Hillsboro, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to a felony offense of civil disorder and a misdemeanor offense of destruction of government property before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton. Judge Walton will sentence Jennings on Oct. 4, 2024.
According to court documents, Jennings traveled from Tennessee to Washington, D.C, to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse and other election-related events in the District on Jan. 6, 2021. After the rally, Jennings approached the Capitol building and the West Plaza, where a large crowd had gathered. By about 2:40 p.m., the crowd on the West Plaza had grown violent and moved toward the Inaugural stage and Lower West Terrace. The crowd then began to attack law enforcement officers in this area. Officers soon retreated from the attack into an entrance to the Capitol building known as the Tunnel.
At approximately 2:41 p.m., Jennings was among the first few rioters to pursue retreating police officers into the Tunnel. Upon entering the Tunnel, Jennings moved forward toward a double set of closed glass doors that separated the mob from police officers and the Tunnel hallway leading deeper into the Capitol building. The police had closed the doors to keep the mob from venturing further down that hallway, and they began to form a line to further prevent the mob from advancing.
Jennings then pulled out a pair of medical scissors and used the scissors' glass-breaking end to tap the glass on one of the glass doors. Jennings quickly struck the glass multiple times, shattering the door's glass on the second attempt. The damage to the door cost $825 to repair.
Court documents say that after Jennings shattered the glass, the mob moved through the now broken sets of doors and began its push against the police line. Jennings made his way toward the front of the mob, where he put his hands on a police officer's shield. Jennings then returned to the middle of the mob in the Tunnel, before exiting the Tunnel at approximately 2:47 p.m. and returning to the Inaugural stage and Lower West Terrace.
The FBI arrested Jennings on Sept. 12, 2023, in Tennessee.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee provided valuable assistance.
The FBI's Knoxville and Washington Field Offices investigated this case. 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
