Florida Man Convicted of Assaulting Law Enforcement on Jan 6 Capitol Breach

WASHINGTON – A Florida man has been convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer and other charges during the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Jesse James Rumson, 38, of Lecanto, Florida, was found guilty of assaulting a Prince George’s County Police Officer, felony civil disorder, and six misdemeanor offenses, two of which involve physical violence on Capitol grounds. 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.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols found Rumson guilty of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, both felony offenses, following a bench trial in District Court. Rumson was also found guilty of six misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Rumson will be sentenced on Sept. 5, 2024. According to evidence presented during the trial, on January 5, 2021, Rumson drove with a friend from Lecanto, Florida, to Washington, D.C., and on January 6th, attended the Stop the Steal Rally at the Ellipse. He was wearing a large headpiece that appeared to be from a panda costume for the first half of the day.

After the rally, Rumson marched with the crowd down Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol grounds. By approximately 2:00 p.m., Rumson was among the thousands of rioters that had breached the Capitol’s restricted perimeter. As he stood on the Lower West Terrace, near the northwest stairs, Rumson could see rioters battling the outnumbered United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers. He then climbed the Northwest Stairs underneath the scaffolding and entered the Capitol building in his panda headpiece. After an altercation with the police inside the building, Rumson emerged from the same door in handcuffs 13 minutes later, this time without the panda headpiece and backpack, and with red eyes and skin from pepper spray.

The FBI arrested Rumson on February 27, 2023, in Florida. During courtroom proceedings, Judge Nichols found that Rumson’s version of the events of January 6th to be “absurd” and “patently incompatible with the objective evidence and testimony.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida providing valuable assistance.

The FBI’s Jacksonville and Washington Field Offices investigated this case, with valuable assistance provided by the Citrus County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department. In the 40 months since January 6, 2021, more than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 500 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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