Pittsburgh-area man pleads guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers during Jan. 6 attack
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Burgettstown man pleaded guilty to attacking police officers with pepper spray and several objects like bottles, a scaffolding pipe and a baseball bat during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Thirty-one-year-old Joshua Lee Atwood pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said.
Citing court documents, the Department of Justice said Atwood traveled from Burgettstown to Washington, D.C., to attend Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
During the attack on the Capitol, prosecutors said Atwood climbed in through a broken window before joining a mob gathered at the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
Prosecutors said Atwood threw a plastic bottle and a metal pole, both of which hit officers. He allegedly used a wooden pole to "forcibly strike" at police's riot shields, striking an officer's helmet before throwing the pole. Officials said he also used pepper spray, emptying the canister before throwing that too at officers. He threw other items like a baseball bat and another bottle at police as well, prosecutors said.
According to the Department of Justice, Atwood then used a police riot shield to hit officers guarding the Tunnel, swearing at them and asking "why would you betray your country?"
After that, authorities said Atwood picked up a metal scaffolding pipe and threw it at police. Prosecutors said the pipe bounced off a riot shield and hit another officer in the head and neck. Atwood then grabbed a heavy black speaker and threw it toward a group of officers, prosecutors said.
The FBI arrested Atwood in Pennsylvania on April 17. His sentencing is set for Dec. 20.
So far, the Department of Justice says nearly 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.