Maine Man Guilty Of Assaulting Police During Jan. 6 Riot At U.S. Capitol: Prosecutors

WASHINGTON, DC — A federal judge has found a Maine man guilty of assaulting two police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents.

Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, of Lebanon, was found guilty of 11 charges stemming from his involvement in the attack. The verdict, announced Tuesday, followed a trial that took place in the District of Columbia last month.

Fitzsimons was charged with four misdemeanor charges and seven felonies, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding; four counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers; and one count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.

According to court documents, Fitzsimons was among thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump who marched to the Capitol to interrupt a joint session of Congress gathering to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

According to prosecutors, Fitzsimons was illegally on Capitol grounds and among a crowd of rioters that confronted law enforcement officers at a tunnel near the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building. Fitzsimons was wearing a white butcher’s jacket and a fur pelt and carrying an unstrung bow, authorities said.

While near the Lower West Terrace, Fitzsimons assaulted several law enforcement officers multiple times over the span of five minutes, according to court documents.

According to a report by The Portland Press Herald, Fitzsimons grabbed the ballistic shield of Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell while he was trying to help another officer. Fitzsimons pulled the shield so hard it injured Gonnell's shoulder. Gonnell later required surgery to repair the torn muscle, the Press Herald reported.

Fitzsimons also assaulted Officer Sarah Beaver and Detective Phuson Nguyen of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Press Herald reported. According to court documents, Fitzsimons hurled his unstrung bow like a spear at the group of law enforcement officers, striking Beaver in the helmet.

During his testimony at Fitzsimons' trial, Nguyen said Fitzsimons pulled off the detective’s gas mask while another person aimed what appeared to be bear spray at his face, the Press Herald reported.

Fitzsimon's felony charges carry a maximum sentence of 91 years in prison. The four misdemeanor offenses carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Fitzsimons will be sentenced on Feb. 17 in Washington, D.C.