Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay
June 28, 2024 - WASHINGTON – A Texas man pleaded guilty today to assaulting law enforcement 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.
Kyle Douglas McMahan, 42, of Watauga, Texas, pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. Judge Chutkan will sentence McMahan on Sept. 10, 2024.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at around 2:00 p.m., McMahan was among a group of rioters that breached the east perimeter police line formed in part by a series of bike rack barriers and surged toward the East Rotunda steps of the U.S. Capitol building. Court documents say that McMahan pushed a bike rack barrier to the side that was in his path.
By approximately 2:15 p.m., rioters had surged up the East Rotunda steps and were attempting to force their way into the U.S. Capitol building through the East Rotunda doors. Here, United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers were positioned near the East Rotunda doors and were attempting to keep the rioters out of the building. Around this time, McMahan pushed a USCP officer who was preventing rioters from entering the building.
McMahan then entered the Capitol building via the East Rotunda doors at around 2:41 p.m. and made his way into the Rotunda, where he pumped his fists and greeted other rioters with high fives and hugs. He then headed toward the Senate Chamber, gesturing for other rioters to follow him. Court documents say that McMahan and other rioters traveled as far as the hallway outside the Old Senate Chamber, where a line of police officers halted the rioters' advance. Other rioters then pushed against the police line while officers prevented them from advancing toward the Senate Chamber.
McMahan then retreated from this area and re-entered the Rotunda. He then walked to a vestibule east of the Rotunda, spoke with other rioters, and made his way toward a police line near the west side of the Rotunda and gestured for other rioters to follow. At the police line, rioters scuffled with police officers, and McMahan grabbed an officer's right hand. McMahan remained near the police line, and at about 3:00 p.m., a group of rioters attempted to overwhelm the officers guarding the west threshold of the Rotunda.
Police officers then formed a line around the rioters who remained in the Rotunda, including McMahan, and began moving them toward the East Rotunda doors. As a police officer attempted to expel another rioter, McMahan grabbed the officer's arm. The officer shouted, "Get off me! Get off me!" to which McMahan replied, "Don't f— touch him! Don't f— touch him!"
At around 3:20 p.m., officers started expelling the rioters remaining in the vestibule by ushering them outside through the East Rotunda doors. McMahan was in the vestibule as rioters surged in and pushed back an outnumbered USCP officer. While rioters streamed into the building, McMahan pulled a different officer away from the incoming rioters, impeding his response. McMahan then tried to move further inside the building as other rioters entered. A USCP officer halted McMahan's advance by placing a hand on him, and McMahan slapped away the officer's hand.
McMahan left the U.S. Capitol Building through the East Rotunda doors at around 3:35 p.m. but lingered on the other side of the doors as police ushered other rioters out of the building.
The FBI arrested McMahan on Dec. 6, 2023, in Texas.
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 Northern District of Texas provided valuable assistance.
The FBI's Dallas 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
