A Texas Air Force veteran was convicted in federal court this week after he entered the Senate chamber wearing military gear during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the Department of Justice.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Brock, 55, from Grapevine, Texas, was found guilty of six charges, including one felony, by a D.C. court on Wednesday, the DoJ said.
“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 presidential election,” the DoJ said in a release.
Prosecutors said that the ex-Air Force lieutenant colonel donned a tactical vest and helmet, while also carrying a “discarded pair of plastic flex-cuffs,” as he maneuvered throughout the Capitol complex and Senate chamber, rifling through paperwork on senators’ desks.
Brock also reportedly used a set of keys to try an open a door that then-Vice President Mike Pence had exited through only minutes before, according to the Washington Post.
Retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Larry Rendall Brock Jr. was photographed on the Senate floor clad in tactical gear and holding flex cuffs. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Brock was identified by the New Yorker as one of the individuals photographed in the Senate chamber. He was arrested in Texas four days after the Capitol breach.
According to the DOJ, nearly 900 individuals have been arrested for the attack at the Capitol and over 275 people have been charged for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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Brock’s defense attorney argued that the Air Force veteran was not trying to break the law and that he was unaware he was not allowed inside of the Capitol, the Post said.
Prosecutors, however, said that in the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack Brock posted messages on social media indicating his intent.
“I prefer insurrection at this point,” he wrote in Dec. 2020. In the days leading up to the riot, he added, “our second American Revolution begins in less than two days.”
Brock is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 14, 2023. He faces up to 20 years for his felony charge, plus a combined maximum of three-plus years for his five misdemeanors, along with other financial penalties.
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
