Texas Man Sentenced on Felony Charge for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

            WASHINGTON – A Texas man today pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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.

            Joshua Lollar, 41, of Spring, Texas, pleaded guilty, in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, and was immediately sentenced to 13 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered 12 months of supervised release, and restitution of $2,000.

            According to court documents and Lollar’s admissions, on January 4, 2021, Lollar left his home in Spring, Texas, and traveled alone by car to a hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Lollar, an Army veteran, brought with him, among other items, a backpack, gloves, a gas mask, a tan body armor vest, and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, along with his concealed carry permit. As he was enroute, Lollar texted one of his friends/family members, “I’m about to head to D.C. We are going to try and save the country.” He later texted another, “God has called me here for something. I think this is a start to something much bigger.” On January 6, he attended a rally for then-President Trump at the Ellipse. After the rally concluded, Lollar told authorities that he followed the crowd to the U.S. Capitol grounds. Once he reached the Capitol, Lollar later donneda gas mask, body armor, and gloves.  At approximately 2:55 p.m., Lollar and a mob of others, undeterred by the presence of broken glass, alarms, smoke, and police clad in riot gear, entered the Capitol and headed directly to the Rotunda with the purpose of disrupting then-Vice President Pence’s certification of the 2020 election. Lollar proudly bragged of his escapades inside the U.S. Capitol.

            Lollar reached the Rotunda where he joined others and repeatedly engaged in physical confrontations with a line of law enforcement officers in full riot gear who were attempting to keep the crowd of rioters from further penetrating the U.S. Capitol building. At approximately 3:05 p.m., Lollar was pepper-sprayed by officers, but he continued to physically engage with officers. Lollar even took time to proudly post to his social media followers, “Yeah, I’m good. Just got gassed and fought the cops that I never thought would happen.” Later, as officers tried to clear rioters, Lollar physically engaged with multiple federal law enforcement officers, using his arms and his torso to repel efforts to eject him from the Rotunda. Lollar reacted to an officer’s attempt to remove his gas mask by shoving the officer’s arm away and used his torso and arms to physically engage with Officer C.D. and push back against his riot shield.

            At about 3:04 p.m., officers gathered on the west side of the Rotunda, preparing to move rioters out of the Rotunda. Lollar positioned himself at the front of the rioters, face-to-face with the officers. Lollar refused to move as the officers stepped forward and instead leaned into the police, using his weight to resist. At about 3:08 p.m., as the line of officers began to advance against the rioters, video footage of Lollar shows him moving to close a gap in the line of rioters where he again proceeded to use his body to prevent police from advancing against the crowd. Lollar, while filming the melee on his phone, managed to surge forward into the face of the advancing officers at least three times.

            At approximately 3:10 p.m., as police were successfully repelling the rioters and ordering them to leave the Rotunda, Lollar lunged himself towards the line of police riot shields as officers could be heard shouting “get back, get back.” Body camera footage from Officer C.D. shows Lollar pushing against C.D.’s riot shield with his left arm. A few seconds later, Lollar again stepped toward the officer’s shield where he was pushed back by police. He advanced and threw his bulk at the riot shield, his stomach (clad in his body armor vest) making physical contact with the officer’s shield. Lollar used his gloved hand to shove the officer’s shield away. Seconds later, Lollar pushed the officer. Lollar continued to resist efforts to remove him from the Rotunda. Instead, he advanced toward an officer’s shield, lowering the hand in which he held the phone he used to livestream the melee, and threw his body-armor-clad stomach against the shield.

            Lollar eventually left the Rotunda at approximately 3:12 p.m., raising his gas mask above his head in victory to celebrate his efforts. Lollar ultimately exited the U.S. Capitol Building at approximately 3:20 p.m. Lollar used his cell phone on several occasions, both outside and inside the U.S. Capitol Building, to take photographs and make video and audio recordings of his activities on January 6.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Houston Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 28 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. 

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