A Virginia man has been convicted on charges stemming from his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot, authorities said yesterday. Antonio Lamotta, 64, from Chesapeake, faces both felony and misdemeanor penalties for his actions, which interrupted the Congressional session that was in the process of confirming the 2020 presidential election results.
Lamotta was tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Judge Jia M. Cobb found him guilty of civil disorder, a felony, and on additional misdemeanors including disorderly conduct and parading in the Capitol building, court records show the FBI arrested him on August 16, 2022, his conviction is now setting the stage for a July 30, 2024 sentencing.
According to the Department of Justice, Lamotta traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 4 and used social media to rally others, writing "get in here asap" on Facebook. On the day of the breach, he was present at a rally near the Senate Russell Building and later joined the mob that violently stormed the Capitol through the East Rotunda Doors, spurring others to follow into the fray.
Inside the Capitol, Lamotta gestured to other rioters to advance toward the Rotunda, even as law enforcement officers worked to expel the crowd, Lamotta continued to resist and tried to hold his position as the chaos unfolded around him, he clung to stay inside the Capitol, unabated in his resolve, but eventually was pushed out along with the rest of the protesters—he did not leave the Capitol grounds until approximately 5 p.m., after being forcibly removed.
The prosecution of Lamotta was spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, supported by the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, with additional aid from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. This verdict is another in a succession of judicial reckonings for the participants in the Jan. 6 events that have gripped the nation's legal system and continue to reverberate through its corridors of power.
