Trending
A Clinton County man who entered the U.S. Capitol and assaulted an officer on Jan. 6, 2021, could face up to 28 years in prison after being indicted and found guilty as part of the deadly insurrection.
Brian Gundersen, 28, of Lock Haven, was found guilty this week by a District of Columbia federal judge on charges of corruptly obstructing (with others) of an official proceeding and assaulting or impeding officers, PennLive.com reported.
The official proceeding was the Electoral College certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Gundersen agreed with the government's evidence that Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Craig Juman presented in the stipulated trial in which no witnesses were called, PennLive stated.
Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan found Juman's presentation that included multiple pictures of Gundersen in or near the Capitol was sufficient to find him guilty.
The combined maximum sentence for the two counts is 28 years. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27 and Gundersen remains free on his own recognizance.
Gundersen, who lived in State College with his mother in January 2021, drove to Washington for President Trump's rally and then followed others to the Capitol, according to the media outlet.
Juman's presentation included this evidence of Gundersen's activities on Jan. 6:
Gundersen arrived at the Senate wing door about 2:30 p.m., climbed up a window next to it and for four minutes shouted at Capitol Police inside, according to the court documents.
About 2:42 p.m., rioters got the parliamentarian door open and he was one of the first to enter. He saw rioters fighting with police ahead of him, according to the evidence presented.
He waved other rioters through the door and encouraged them by patting them on the back. He saw the damage rioters were doing in the parliamentarian's office. Before leaving he left a note that stated: "sowwy for the damage" with a crying emoji, according to the report.
He went to another office where, standing at a window, gave the victory sign to those outside. At 3:07 p.m. Gundersen was forced out of the Capitol by police but re-entered through a window at 3:16 p.m., PennLive stated.
He was forced out again but remained in the Northwest Courtyard for more than an hour with other rioters trying to get back into the building.
At 4:20 p.m. he moved to the Capitol's Northwest Terrace where he joined other rioters confronting police and he rushed a Metropolitan police officer and hit him with his arm but was pushed back by another officer with a riot shield.
After being pushed away he beat his chest with his fists and retreated into other rioters.
On Jan. 7, Gundersen posted on social media a picture of members of Congress taking cover with the comment: "Look at these scared little bitches," PennLive reported. He called the rioters "patriots" who had been "mad enough to attack the government."
He also posted: "We can check bum rushing the capitol building off the list of potential ways to take over the government," according to the media source.
The following day Gundersen posted: "We all stormed the U.S. capital (sic) and tried to take over the government" followed by "we failed but [expletive] it."
In a later post that day he wrote: "Just was at our capital(sic) building in a massive event that rocked the world."
Gundersen contended the Electoral College vote is a ceremonial not an official proceeding and the definition of the word "corruptly" in the law is constitutionally vague, PennLive stated.
In the 22 months since Jan. 6, 2021, nearly 900 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 275 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia..
Anyone with tips can call 1800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.