Ryan Samsel, one of the individuals who prosecutors accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted Friday on multiple felony counts, along with four co-defendants.
Samsel was one of the first people to confront the police on Jan. 6 outside the Capitol, with prosecutors saying he was part of a group that breached a restricted perimeter on the Capitol grounds and “paved the way” for other rioters to storm the area.
Prosecutors said Samsel and the four co-defendants “ignited a fire that burned for over four hours at the Capitol,” The New York Times reported .
Federal charges were filed against Samsel a month after the riot, with prosecutors alleging he attacked a Capitol Police Officer, Caroline Edwards, who suffered a concussion.
He was found guilty Friday of assaulting Edwards, and convicted on felony counts of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Samsel, along with co-defendants James Tate Grant, Paul Russell Johnson, Stephen Chase Randolph and Jason Benjamin Blythe, were all found guilty of civil disorder, the DOJ said in a release .