WORLD NEWS | 2 Florida men found guilty of involvement in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON, March 16 (AP) — Two Florida men were convicted Wednesday of storming the U.S. Capitol during the January 2021 insurrection.

Joshua Christopher Dooling, 25, of Polk City and Michael Steven Perkins, 39, of Plant City, were both convicted of a felony felony of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds , as well as engaging in disorderly and disorderly conduct within restricted buildings or grounds, according to court records.

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Dooling was also convicted of theft of government property. Perkins was convicted separately of assaulting a federal official with a deadly or dangerous weapon and engaging in physical violence on the confined grounds of the Capitol. Sentencing is scheduled for July 13.

Dooling and Perkins were arrested on June 30, 2021, along with co-defendants Joseph Hutchinson and Olivia Pollock, officials said.

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Earlier this month, a federal judge issued bench warrants for Hutchinson and Pollock after the FBI reported that Hutchinson and Pollock had tampered with or removed their ankle monitors and disappeared. A fifth co-defendant, Jonathan Pollock, has not yet been arrested, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $30,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Dooling and Perkins joined others in opposing Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, according to court documents. Authorities said a mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from approving Biden’s victory over Republican Trump. Five people were killed in the violence.

On January 6, Dooling and Perkins were on the west side of the Capitol, according to evidence and testimony presented at the trial. Prosecutors said Hutchinson, pushed behind Perkins, rushed into a line of officers in an attempt to breach the line.

As officers descended into the crowd to assist another officer, Perkins took a flagpole and thrust it into the chest of an approaching officer, authorities said. He then raised the flagpole over his head and swung it downward, hitting both officers in the back of the head, officials said.

Dooling and Perkins then approached the Capitol, where Dooling obtained a Metropolitan Police Department crowd-control spray can and a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield, prosecutors said. Dooling eventually moved to the Capitol’s entryway, where he used a stolen riot shield to join the crowd, pushing officers inside the passageway in an attempt to break through and enter the Capitol, officials said.

Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 999 people have been arrested for crimes related to the vandalism of the U.S. Capitol, officials said. More than 320 people were charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)