Virginia Man Sentenced for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

WASHINGTON- A Virginia man was sentenced to prison today after he previously pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Joseph Brody, 24, of Springfield, Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Brody pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers on Feb. 21, 2024.

According to court documents, Brody attended the former President's rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, with several friends and acquaintances. After the rally, the group made their way to the Capitol building and entered via the Senate Wing Door along with many other rioters at approximately 2:16 p.m.

After a few minutes, Brody and others in the group proceeded toward the Crypt and pushed past law enforcement personnel into a room containing busts of historical figures known as the "Corridor of Honorary Citizens." The group then moved with the crowd down the hallway and near several offices.

Brody and his group later reentered the Crypt and entered a room containing a spiral stairwell, then ascended the stairwell. At the top of the stairs, the group continued forward and entered a small atrium, which displayed a plaque reading, "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi." Brody and his group then entered a conference room within Speaker Pelosi's office suite.

The group then left Speaker Pelosi's office and later ascended the House Gallery Stairs to the third level of the Capitol, where they proceeded through the Senate East Corridor. The group eventually made their way to the Senate Chamber and stopped outside the doors labeled Secretary of the Senate's Office and the Senate Gallery Door Number 1.

Brody broke off from the group and entered the Senate Chamber. While in the Chamber, Brody held a cell phone in his hand and appeared to photograph or record the interior of the Senate Chamber, including documents and other information on top of and inside several senator's desks. Brody and others in the group exited the Capitol at about 2:50 p.m.

After exiting the Capitol, the group moved to the north side of the building, where law enforcement officers were attempting to keep rioters from breaching the North Door. Here, an officer attempted to use a fire extinguisher to keep the rioters at bay; however, Brody grabbed a metal barricade, lifted it up, and shoved it over a concrete station and into the officer. Court documents say that the force knocked the officer backward.

Brody and his group then moved to an area outside the Capitol building where news media had set up broadcasting equipment. Although metal barricades had been erected around the equipment, rioters had breached the barricades and begun destroying and looting the media equipment. Brody and his group took some items from the pile of media equipment, and Brody ripped out a corded phone.

The FBI arrested Brody on Sept. 14, 2022, in Springfield.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia provided valuable assistance.

The FBI's Washington Field Office investigated this case. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.

In the 42 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,470 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 530 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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