Maryland police officer convicted of tossing smoke bomb at police during Capitol riot

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Maryland police officer has been convicted of charges that he joined a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and hurled a smoke bomb and other objects at police officers guarding a tunnel entrance. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard two days of trial testimony without a jury this week before he found Montgomery County Police Officer Justin Lee guilty on Friday of two felonies and three misdemeanors. McFadden also acquitted Lee of two other misdemeanors. The judge is scheduled to sentence Lee on Nov. 22. Lee ignited and threw a smoke bomb into the tunnel entrance on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Lee, who remains free until his sentencing, didn’t show any obvious reaction as the judge read aloud his verdict.