Defendants Sprayed and Assaulted Police, Swung Baton at Officers
According to court documents, Devlyn Thompson, 28, of Seattle, was among individuals in a
crowd on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol who were pushing against and assaulting
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers in the tunnel leading
into the U.S. Capitol. Thompson and others in the tunnel yelled obscenities at police and encouraged
the continued assault. Thompson was part of a group that threw objects and projectiles at the
officers, including flag poles, and grabbed and stole the officers’ riot shields to prevent them from
defending themselves against the violence.
At approximately 2:21 p.m., Thompson personally observed police order rioters to stop,
physically push the crowd back, and deploy pepper spray in an effort to try to stop the ongoing
assault. Later, Thompson entered a tunnel on the West Front Terrace that led to an entrance to the
U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress were sheltering in place. Thompson joined rioters in that
tunnel and assisted other rioters in their assault of officers by helping them seize and use stolen law
enforcement shields for approximately 13 minutes. Thompson also helped throw a large speaker at
the front line of officers, and he later picked up a metal baton from the floor of the tunnel and swung
it overhead and downward against the police line in an apparent effort to knock a can of pepper
spray from an officer’s hand and stop the officer from pepper-spraying the rioters. After more pepper
spray was deployed by the rioters and the officers, Thompson retreated from the archway area.
Thompson pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, in the District of Columbia, to assaulting, resisting or
impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon. Thompson was arrested on that same date and
has been in custody ever since. Judge Royce C. Lamberth also ordered him today to pay $2,000 in
restitution. He also must serve a period of three years of supervised release following completion of
his prison term.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the
Justice Department's National Security Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the
FBI’s Seattle Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department. The FBI’s
Washington Field Office identified Thompson as #67 in its seeking information photos.
In the 11 months since Jan. 6, more than 700 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50
states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 220 individuals charged
with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
