A Maryland Police Officer Got 18 Months in Prison for His Part in the Riot at the Capitol on January 6

In Washington, D.C., Federal prosecutors said that a police officer from Maryland was given an 18-month prison term for attacking other police officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

After a bench hearing led by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, Justin Lee, 25, was found guilty of assaulting police officers, trespassing, and disorderly conduct. Lee also had to pay $7,500 in restitution and spend 12 months under supervision after getting out of jail.

According to court records, Lee threw a smoke bomb into the Lower West Terrace tunnel, where rioters were striking police officers who were protecting the Capitol but were outnumbered. The device hit a Metropolitan Police Officer’s shield and filled the area with smoke, putting more officers in danger who were already under attack.

Judge McFadden, who used to be a police officer, called Lee’s actions “cowardly” during the sentence hearing, but he did say that Lee’s past “heroic” actions were a mitigating factor. In July 2023, Lee killed a 19-year-old armed stabbing suspect at a shopping center while working as a police officer in Montgomery County. Maryland prosecutors did not press charges for this episode.

Lee joined the Montgomery County Police Department in January 2022, one year after the attack on the Capitol. He had sent in his application six months before the attack. After being arrested in October 2023 for his part in the uprising, he was put on leave without pay.

The sentencing shows what happened to people who attacked police during the Capitol riot, even some who later ended up working for police forces.