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Description: Washington, DC criminal lawyers represented Defendants charged for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Patrick E. McCaughey III, 25, of Ridgefield, Connecticut; Tristan Chandler Stevens, 26, of Pensacola, Florida, and David Mehaffie, 63, of Kettering, Ohio, all traveled to Washington, D.C. from their respective homes. Each illegally made his way on to the restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol. McCaughey and Stevens taunted officers at the West Front, and Mehaffie yelled at nearby rioters who were hesitating to illegally cross the outer perimeter, “if we can’t fight over this wall, we can’t win this battle!”

The three defendants ultimately broke through the police line after approximately 2:30 p.m., when the line on the West Front failed under the siege of the advancing mob. Each of the defendants scaled the Southwest scaffolding and staircase, to converge together at the tunnel created by the inaugural platform structure on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building.

At the Lower West Terrace, officers of the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department guarded the entrance door to the Capitol from the mob -- including McCaughey, Stevens and Mehaffie -- for several hours. Between 2:41 p.m. and 3:19 p.m., the three defendants attempted to break into the building by directing other rioters, participating in heave-hos against the police line, using riot shields stolen from the Capitol Police, and assaulting three specific officers. Mehaffie hung from an archway and shouted direction from above, and McCaughey and Stevens were key players in the melee below. McCaughey grabbed a riot shield and used it as a weapon. Even after officers finally cleared the tunnel area, the three defendants illegally remained on Capitol grounds.

McCaughey was arrested on Jan. 19, 2021, in South Salem, New York. Stevens was arrested on Feb. 5, 2021, in Pensacola, Florida. Mehaffie was arrested on Aug. 12, 2021, in Kettering, Ohio.

McCaughey was found guilty of a total of nine offenses. They include seven felony charges: three counts of aiding or abetting or assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, including one involving a dangerous weapon; one count of obstruction of an official proceeding; one count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder; one count of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and one count of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The two misdemeanor charges include: disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and committing an act of violence in the Capitol Building or grounds.

Stevens was found guilty of a total of nine offenses. They include five felony charges: four counts of aiding or abetting or assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and one count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. The four misdemeanor charges include: 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, and committing an act of violence in the Capitol Building or grounds.

Mehaffie was found guilty of a total of four offenses. They include two felony charges: aiding and abetting in assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. The two misdemeanor charges include: disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and aiding and abetting in committing an act of violence in the Capitol Building or grounds.

McCaughey is to be sentenced on Jan. 26, 2023. Stevens is to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2023. Mehaffie is to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2023. 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 Offices for the District of Connecticut, the Northern District of Florida, the Southern District of New York, and the Southern District of Ohio.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New Haven, and New York, Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. The FBI’s Washington Field Office identified McCaughey as #62, Stevens as #64, and Mehaffie as #86 on its seeking information photos.

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.

Outcome: The defendants were found guilty of assaulting or aiding and abetting in assaulting law enforcement officers, interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and other charges.

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