A Texas man has been found guilty of serious charges stemming from the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach, including the felony of carrying a firearm onto Capitol grounds. Mario Mares, a 50-year-old from Ballinger, Texas, faced a federal trial that concluded with his conviction on multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to that tumultuous day, according to a recent statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mares was convicted by U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes and faces sentencing come February 27, 2025, for felonies that also included entering and remaining in a restricted building with a weapon, along with misdemeanors for disorderly conduct; these offenses carry significant weight considering the broader context of what that day has come to represent, and the evidence presented during the trial painted a clear picture of Mares' movements and intentions as he carried his handgun onto the restricted premises while the electoral count was occurring.
Testimonies and recordings revealed that prior to attending the National Mall rally and subsequently making their way to the Capitol, Mares and his companions had traveled with an arsenal of firearms and ammunition; although they left their rifles in Mares' truck, handguns were kept on their persons as they moved into the Capitol area, engaged in the riot, and his right hip underneath a camouflage shirt where he carried an object consistent with a firearm was notably under surveillance, according to the District’s evidence.
Compounding the gravity of these charges is Mares' social media activity preceding the events; on December 27, 2020, he had posted threats against politicians who he deemed corrupt, stating, "believe[d] that every #patriot should on January 6 if you can’t make it to Washington DC you should go to your state capitol and local mayors offices heavily armed and drag out and either jail or execute all the known CORRUPT #politicans for treason!," and the FBI’s arrest of Mares on August 2, 2023, was a culminating effort by various agencies including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and local police departments which have all continued to work in tandem since the insurrection, as detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
As part of a far-reaching campaign to bring those involved to justice, more than 1,532 individuals have been charged for their roles in the breach, the DOJ confirms, with over 571 facing charges for assaulting or interfering with law enforcement; anyone with additional information is still encouraged to come forward to the FBI through their tip line, as the comprehensive investigation remains persistently ongoing nearly four years after the unsettling events of January 6 shook the nation.
