Saturday marked three years since insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol, making Jan. 6 an important date in history. More than 1,265 defendants have been charged in almost all 50 states and Washington, D.C.–including six Montgomery County residents–according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Here is what happened in the cases of Montgomery County residents who participated in the insurrection in the order they were sentenced, according to digital court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.:
An Instagram post tipped off police and led to the arrest of Nicole Prado, of Gaithersburg. She was sentenced on Feb. 7, 2022, to a year of probation, including 60 hours of community service, after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.
During the insurrection, David A. Blair, of Clarksburg waived a “Confederate battle flag that was attached to a lacrosse stick, and yelled something similar to ‘hell naw, quit backing up, don’t be scared,’” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced on July 13, 2022, to five months in prison and 18 months of probation, after pleading guilty to civil disorder.
Bryan Betancur of Silver Spring received permission from his probation officer to travel to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to “distribute Bibles” according to court documents. His GPS tracker showed he was in the Capitol as it was being stormed, according to court documents. He was sentenced on Aug. 10, 2022, to four months in prison and a year of probation after pleading guilty to remaining on restricted grounds.
Joshua Pruitt of Silver Spring, a member of the Proud Boys (an extremist right-wing hate group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center), was sentenced on Aug. 29, 2022, to 55 months in prison and three years of probation after pleading guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. According to court records, he told law enforcement that he “did not engage in any unlawful activity and was only attempting to de-escalate others who had entered the Capitol.”
Steven Patrick Cook of Bethesda was “identified in the crowd of rioters on the West Plaza of the Capitol in body-worn camera footage and open-source videos and photos, including ones that he posted on his social media accounts,” according to court documents and reporting from MoCo360. He was arrested on Sept. 18, 2023, and his case was closed on Sept. 27, 2023, after he was charged with assaulting law enforcement.
Justin Lee of Rockville, allegedly attended the insurrection prior to becoming a Montgomery County Police officer. He was indicted on Oct. 19, 2023, and his trial is scheduled to begin May 20 for pending charges of civil disorder, engaging in violence on restricted grounds and remaining on restricted grounds. Lee was also in the news in July for fatally shooting a suspect in multiple stabbings in Aspen Hill and was put on administrative leave.
