Maryland man found guilty for role in Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection
BALTIMORE - A Maryland man was found guilty on Wednesday for his actions in the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Adam Ryan Obest, 43, of Thurmont, Maryland, was found guilty of two felony charges, including civil disorder, and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer.
Obest was also found guilty of several misdemeanor offenses including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and act of physical violence at the Capitol building or grounds.
He will be sentenced on December 13, 2024.
The FBI arrested Obest, who was identified as a federal employee at the time of the riot, on June 13, 2023, in Maryland.
Details in a criminal complaint alleged Obest was wearing a camouflage baseball cap and a dark-colored jacket, circled in red shown in a still shot, as he struggled with officers over a flagpole. He was captured here trying to grab an officer's baton in an attempt to disarm the officer.
Body-worn camera and tips to the FBI uncovered how Obest's wrongdoing was carried out.
Detectives matched photos from Obest's social media account to photos captured of him at the Million MAGA March on November 14, 2020, revealing an American Flag tattoo on his left shoulder which resembles a similar tattoo shown in his booking photo from a separate unrelated arrest in 2018.
Through a warrant, detectives reviewed Obest's Facebook posts a day after the Capitol riot, according to documents.
One comment on January 7 under the screen name Adam Blest, under a video posted by Bill O'Reilly read, "Good review. Can't wait to hear your analysis of the protests at the Capitol today. I was there and it was 96 percent peaceful God Bless."
In another comment, he wrote, "I was there. Yes, this is true. Thanks for sharing it."
Investigators say Obest was employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and that he took a day off on January 6, 2021, to attend the rally dubbed "Stop and Steal."
