A southern Illinois man has pleaded guilty to a destruction of property charge after he smashed a window in the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Justin LaGesse, a 37-year-old who lives about 300 miles south of Chicago in McLeansboro, pleaded guilty to felony destruction of property Monday. Proceedings are ongoing for 36-year-old Theodore Middendorf, another McLeansboro resident charged alongside him.
The two men had initially each faced up to seven charges relating to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said LaGesse entered the Capitol building through a broken window near the U.S. Senate wing door, helping Middendorf through after him.
The two then spent some time in the building chanting alongside others before exiting the building and harassing Metropolitan Police Department officers standing behind a bicycle rack barricade, prosecutors said.
LaGesse called the officers “f——— traitors” and “f— communist scum,” according to court documents.
The two moved to the north side of the building, where others were trying to get in, and hit a window several times with flagpoles they were carrying, causing “visible damage” to the glass. The Capitol architect determined the window sustained $41,315.25 in damage, according to investigators.
In March, after reviewing evidence for the case, LaGesse texted someone he believed was a witness against him, saying “F— you narc,” You called the f—in FBI on me and wrote a statement” and “Karma is a motherf—er … I hope you remember when it gets you again,” among other things, according to court documents.
LaGesse is set to be sentenced Jan. 10, when he could face a fine of up to $250,000, 10 years in prison or both.
More than 40 Illinois residents have faced criminal charges in connection with the Capitol riot, along with more than 1,448 other individuals across the country — including nearly 550 facing charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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