January 6 rioter rejoins US military after attack pleads guilty

WASHINGTON – An ex-soldier is re-enlisted in the US Army after he stormed the Capitol January 6 pleaded guilty to a federal charge on Friday, admit that he spends spray Police Officer.

James Mault was photographed wearing a helmet with an iron workers union sticker, was identified by local union officials and subsequently lost his job, according to court documents.

He was interviewed by the FBI on January 18, 2021, according to court documents. But a few months later, Mault was allowed to rejoin the US Army, according to military records, even though his photo was posted on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website.

Mault and his friend, Cody Mattice, pleaded guilty Friday to assaulting, obstructing or resisting law enforcement officers. Mault and Mattice could face a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison for the crime.

Mault, wearing an orange prison suit and black mask, admitted to the judge that he advised Mattice to bring weapons to the Capital on January 6 and mocked police officers and encouraged them to participate. riot family.

Mault also admitted he was part of a mob that forced officers to retreat and obtained a chemical spray that he used against officers in the tunnel.

In October, after the FBI realized that Mault had been caught on the gang of assault officers, he, and Mattice, were charged. Mault was captured at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he was working as a member of the artillery crew.

Mault was previously join the army in 2013, was an active-duty soldier until 2016, according to military records. He served in the army reserve from 2016 to 2020.

“His re-enlistment comes after he apparently lost his job in New York for his participation in the events of January 6, 2021,” a federal judge said. state ordered Mault’s arrest before trial.

Mault pleaded guilty before Chief Justice Beryl A. Howell in a federal courtroom in Washington, DC on Friday afternoon. He and Mattice were both in pre-trial detention.

Mault joined more than 250 defendants January 6, who pleaded guilty in the 15 months since the Capitol attack, as a mob tried to stave off former President Donald Trump’s electoral defeat. Nearly 800 defendants have been charged out of more than 2,500 who could face charges of trespassing on Capitol Hill or attacking law enforcement. As NBC News did reportHundreds of other Capitol rioters have been identified by cyber killers but have yet to be apprehended by the FBI.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here