Seffner Man Pleads Guilty To Actions In 2021 US Capitol Riot: Court

WASHINGTON — A Seffner man, Mitchell Todd Gardner, II, pleaded guilty Monday in the District of Columbia to assaulting law enforcement officers for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a U.S. Attorney's news release said.

Gardner's felony charges include civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, the U.S. Attorney said.

Court documents said, "Gardner was part of a mob just outside the Lower West Terrace Tunnel from approximately 3:45 p.m. until at least 4:05 p.m. when he shouted, among other things, 'drag them out,' and 'pull the cops out.'"

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Gardner and many others at the U.S. Capitol that day objectified President Joe Biden's winning the 2020 presidential election over former Republican president, Donald Trump.

Prosecutors said Gardner used a pepper spray device on two police officers with the Metropolitan Police Department. The spray blasted in the officers' faces, causing them to cough, and it burned their eyes, police said.

"Gardner also urged other rioters to use a ladder to break into a window. When the ladder was not used, Gardner stood on a window ledge outside of a Senate Terrace Room and damaged the window with the Oleoresin Capsicum device (pepper spray)...while inside the Capitol, he waved other rioters to come closer or into the building. He also handed another rioter what looked like a table/desk leg; that object was used to assault police officers," the news release said.

Police said he continued encouraging the mob and cheered at 4:55 p.m. when one rioter threw a fire extinguisher into the tunnel at police officers.

Police took Gardner into custody on June 25, 2021, in Tampa. A federal judge will sentence Gardner on Oct. 21, court documents said.

Gardner faces up to 45 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney said.