Capitol Riots: Tampa Bay area defendants and where their cases stand after Jan. 6 attack
A large group of pro-Trump protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building after storming its grounds on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and clashing with police officers. Trump supp
TAMPA, Fla. - Hundreds of people were charged for their alleged role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. More were rounded up in Florida than any other state and many of the people arrested, charged and sentenced to prison were in the Tampa Bay area, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Residents representing Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, and Sarasota counties are accused of traveling to the nation's capital to participate in what would become a deadly attack on the U.S. government.
Floridians from at least 16 other counties, including Volusia, Broward, Marion, Duval, Miami-Dade, Charlotte, Brevard, Palm Beach, Escambia, Orange, St. Lucie, Lee, Osceola, Seminole, St. John's, Clay, and Baker counties have also been charged in connection with the riots.
Defendants from at least 24 of Florida's 67 counties are listed on the DOJ's website of suspects in Capitol breach cases.
Tampa Bay arrests, by county:
Hernando County
Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey, Spring Hill
Status: Sentenced to six years in prison, three years supervised release
Audrey Southard leaves federal court, with shoes in hand, after her first appearance.
According to prosecutors, Southard-Rumsey was front and center as a large crowd pushed through police barricades, forcing officers to retreat. She tried to rip a riot shield away from one officer, held a flagpole against the chest of police sergeant, then pushed the sergeant, causing him to fall backwards and strike his head on the marble base of a statue. She also grabbed two officers’ batons and threatened nearby officers. She was convicted of seven felony charges and sentenced to six years in prison followed by three years supervised release.
Pasco County
Steven Miles, Zephyrhills
Status: Awaiting trial
Miles faces nine charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, civil disorder, destruction of Government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and physical violence in the capitol grounds or buildings. On May 5, 2022, he pleaded not guilty and was freed on personal recognizance. His next court hearing is scheduled for September 29, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.
Pinellas County
Robert Scott Palmer, Largo
Status: Sentenced to five years, three months in prison, three years supervised release
Palmer pleaded guilty to assault charges in October 2021. Prior to his sentencing, Palmer apologized for his actions saying that he and other January 6th participants were lied to by President Trump as well as those acting on Trump’s behalf, who claimed the election was stolen. According to court records, Palmer attended a pro-Trump rally, then headed to the U.S. Capitol, where video shows him attacking police officers. Records show Palmer threw a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher at officers.
Dion Rajewski, Largo
Status: Awaiting trial
Dion Rajewski, Alan Fischer, III, Zachary Johnson
According to an indictment, Rajewski was part of a group that illegally entered the Capitol grounds and participated in the riot. The documents show Rajewski carried pepper spray with him into the Capitol building. Rajewski faces five counts related to the January 6th Capitol riot. He has pleaded not guilty is currently awaiting trial.
James Brett IV, Clearwater
Status: Awaiting Trial
According to an indictment James Brett IV faces a felony charge of civil disorder and several misdemeanors. Prosecutors accuse him of forcing his way into the Capitol grounds where he confronted police. Brett pleaded not guilty and is free on personal recognizance, awaiting trial.
Michael Stepakoff, of Palm Harbor
Status: Sentenced to two months home detention, 12 months probation
Stepakoff, a Rabbi from Palm Harbor, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to "parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Stepakoff was accused of knowingly entering a restricted building, engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct and other related charges. His defense attorney claimed he was just a spectator who followed the crowd.
During sentencing, Stepakoff said he regretted entering the Capitol and called it a "terrible mistake." He said it wasn’t done as "an act of civil disobedience, but because I failed to properly appreciate the situation."
Zachary Johnson, St. Petersburg
Status: Awaiting trial
According to an indictment, Johnson was part of a group that illegally entered the Capitol grounds and participated in the riot. The documents say Johnson carried pepper spray into the Capitol building. It further alleges that Johnson pepper-sprayed officers and carried a sledgehammer. Johnson faces six counts related to the January 6th riot. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on personal recognizance, awaiting trial.
Hillsborough County
Alan Fisher III, Tampa
Status: Awaiting trial
Tampa resident Anthony Fischer, III, charged with civil disorder and assaulting or resisting officers using a dangerous weapon.
According to an indictment, Fisher was part of a group that illegally entered the Capitol grounds and participated in the riot. The documents say Fisher marched with the group "Proud Boys" on January 6th. Fisher has pleaded not guilty in is free n personal recognizance awaiting trial.
Jeremy Brown, Tampa
Status: Awaiting trial on Capitol charges; convicted and sentenced on unrelated charge
Jeremy Brown is a retired Green Beret, former member of the Oath Keepers, and one-time Congressional candidate from Tampa. He is accused of trespassing at the Capitol on January 6, but is not accused of entering the building or of any violent conduct. However, during a search of his RV on the day of his arrest, law enforcement officials said they discovered a pair of grenades, two illegal guns, and a classified document. He was convicted of felony charges related to that search. Despite letters from three members of Congress requesting leniency for Brown, the judge sentenced him to more than 7 years in federal prison. Brown is a decorated U.S. Army veteran who earned two Bronze Stars during his military career. He’s currently awaiting trial on the January 6 trespassing charge.
Matthew Council, of Riverview
Status: Sentenced to 180 days home confinement and five years probation.
Council pleaded guilty on August 10, 2022, to six charges, including 1 felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, and a felony count of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
According to the indictment, Council barged into a line of Capitol police, trying to push them back and create an opening for others to get through. Court documents reveal he struggles with mental illness and suffers from a degenerative brain disease that can cause impulsive behavior and dementia.
Michael Perkins, Lakeland
Status: Guilty, awaiting sentence
A Judge found Perkins guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and engaging in physical violence on the Capitol Grounds. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents, Perkins was part of group who joined a mob attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Perkins is accused of shoving a flagpole into the chest of an officer, then striking two other officers in the back in their heads with the pole.
Mitchell Todd Gardner II, Seffner
Status: Sentenced to 4.5 years in prison
After pleading guilty to three felonies, Gardner was sentenced to four and half years in prison, and three years supervised release. Video showed Gardner spraying liquid at Capitol Police during the January 6th riots.
Paul Allard Hodgkins, Tampa
Status: Sentenced eight months in prison
Hodgkins, the first person to be sentenced for involvement in the Capitol riots, got 8 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding. As part of plea deal, several other charges were dropped.
Polk County
Brian Boele, of Lakeland
Status: Awaiting trial
Brian Boele, 59, of Lakeland and James Brett, IV
Brian Boele and co-defendant James Brett, IV, of Clearwater face a felony charge of civil disorder and several misdemeanors. Prosecutors accuse them of forcing their way into the Capitol grounds where they confronted police. Both are awaiting trial.
Corinne Montoni, Lakeland
Status: Guilty, awaiting sentence
In June 2023, Montoni pleaded guilty to one count of Civil Disorder. According to court documents, Montoni entered the Capitol building through a broken door, and once inside recorded several videos with her cell phone, including one she posted on Instagram. Documents also show she posted about her experiences at the Capitol throughout the day on January 6th. She will be sentenced on September 28, 2023, and faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Joshua Christopher Doolin, Lakeland
Status: Sentenced to 2.5 years in prison
Doolin was among four people from Lakeland accused of participating in the January 6th Capitol riots. In March 2023, the former Polk County EMT was found guilty of four federal charges including civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and theft of government property.
Olivia Pollock, Lakeland
Status: Wanted by the FBI
Pollock was originally arrested on June 30, 2021, on charges including assault on law enforcement, violent entry, disorderly conduct, and theft of government property. According to an affidavit, she punched an officer, engaged in hand-to-hand combat with another officer and tried to steal an officer’s baton. In March 2023, a federal judge issued a bench warrant for Pollock and co-defendant Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III after the FBI said the pair had removed their ankle monitors. Neither defendant has been located.
Joshua Daniel Hutchinson, III
Status: Wanted by the FBI
The FBI says this images shows Doolin, Perkins, and Pollock engaging with officers.
Hutchinson was originally arrested on June 30, 2021, on charges including assault on law enforcement, entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry, disorderly conduct, and theft of government property. According to court documents, Hutchinson and another man pushed a metal barricade out of the way, allowing rioters unobstructed access to a line of police officers. Video shows Hutchison assaulting two police officers. In March 2023, a federal judge issued a bench warrant for Hutchinson and co-defendant Oliva Pollock after the FBI said the pair had removed their ankle monitors. Neither defendant has been located.
Johnathan Pollock
Status: Wanted by the FBI
Johnathn Pollock, the brother of co-defendant Oliva Pollock, is accused of assaulting officers, theft of government property, violent entry, and numerous other charges related to the January 6th riots. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Pollock on June 25, 2021, but he remains on the lam. A $30,000 reward is offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Manatee County
Adam Johnson, Parrish
Status: Sentenced to 75 days in prison
Also known as the 'The Lectern Guy,' Adam Johnson became famous for a photo showing him carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern from the Capitol building. Johson pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February, 2022, to 75 days in prison, a year of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine.
Sarasota County
Daniel Lyons Scott, Englewood
Status: Sentenced to five years in prison, 26 months of supervised release
Scott, a member of the "Proud Boys," pleaded guilty to charges of obstructing an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. According to the Justice department, Scott was part of the first group of protestors to enter the Capitol building. He was also accused of pushing two officers.
Joseph Hackett, Sarasota
Status: Sentenced to four years in prison, three years supervised release
Hackett, along with three other men, were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges related to January 6. Seditious conspiracy is one of the more serious charges faced by any defendants in the investigation. Prosecutors say all four men were members of the group "Oath Keepers". According to court documents, Hackett and others allegedly wore tactical vests, helmets, goggles and hard-knuckle tactical gloves and formed military-style "stacks" to push their way through Capitol Police officers and into the building, causing thousands of dollars in damage and injuring officers set to defend the Capitol and members of Congress inside.
More charges and arrests
Oath Keepers
More notable Floridians charged in the January 6th attack include the leader of the Florida chapter of the "Oath Keepers."
In May 2023, Kelly Meggs, of Dunnellon, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. In March, his wife, Connie Meggs was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. She is currently awaiting sentencing.
Meanwhile, the founder and leader of Oath Keepers, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, of Granbury, Texas got 18 years in prison and 36 months supervised released. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the sentences "reflect the grave threat the actions of these defendants posed to our democratic institutions. The United States proved at trial that the Oath Keepers plotted for months to violently disrupt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next."
Proud Boys
On May 4, 2023, Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with three other members of the organization. Prosecutors said the group plotted to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate effort to keep Donald Trump in power following the 2020 presidential election. Tarrio and his co-defendants face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced.