Description: Washington, DC criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with disruption a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Kurt Peterson, age 67, of Hodgenville, Kentucky, traveled from his home in Kentucky to Washington, D.C., to attend the rally near the Ellipse and illegally entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Peterson illegally entered the Capitol grounds, along with a crowd, and stood near a line of law enforcement officers outside of the Capitol building. Peterson was then sprayed with a chemical spray. He then approached the Capitol building carrying a pointed wooden stick, which he used to shatter the left pane of an exterior window and further broke the glass with his fist. The right pane had already been broken. While smashing the window, Peterson shouted, “This is our house! Let us in! Our house!”

At approximately 2:42 p.m., Peterson walked through the building of the Capitol known as the Speaker’s Lobby. He was present as other rioters shouted and banged on the door of the Speaker’s Lobby and was in view of the rioters when they broke the door of the Speaker’s Lobby. He remained in the general area of the Capitol until law enforcement arrived and forced the crowd out at approximately 2:56 p.m.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Louisville and Washington Field Offices, which identified Peterson as #313 on its seeking information photos. Significant assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 33 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

18:1752(a)(4) and (b)(1)(A); TEMPORARY RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
(1s)

Outcome: Defendant Sentenced to Forty-Five (45) Days of Incarceration followed by a term of Sixty (60) Days of Supervised Release to be served as Home Incarceration (with conditions). Defendant further Ordered to pay $4,700.00 of Restitution and $100.00 Special Assessment. No fine imposed.

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