A Chicago Trump supporter who stormed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol was found guilty Friday on all six counts he faced related to the mob breach.
Kevin Lyons, 40, of the Gladstone Park neighborhood, man gave prosecutors plenty of clues to work with. He publicly posted a photo of the plaque outside Pelosi’s ransacked office. He also posted his car route from Chicago to Washington, D.C., the day before the riot, writing, “I’m heading to DC to STOP THE STEAL,” The Chicago Tribune reported, citing court records.
Additionally, on Jan. 6, Lyons recorded himself throughout the day and texted updates to others while weathering tear gas and flash-bangs as rioters broke into the building after a rally hosted by then-President Donald Trump.
“We’re storming the Capitol building,” he said. “I guess we’re all going to jail.”
Well, his prediction was spot on.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Lyons guilty on counts of entering and remaining in a restrict building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, entering and remaining in certain room in the Capitol, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, demonstrating in the Capitol and obstructing an official proceeding, the records show.
He called the riot an “(expletive) revolution” as he ascended stairs to the Capitol’s Senate Wing doors, court records show.
Once inside, Lyons goaded politicians hiding elsewhere nearby while sharing chants with the mob.
“Nancy, where are you?” he said, referring to the Californian representative who then led the Democratic House majority.
Then he found her office on the second floor, court records say. He called out her name again and took a photograph of the plaque outside her wall.
He posted the photo to Instagram, court records say, but took it down after about an hour.
Back inside Pelosi’s office, Lyons walked around. He caught his own image reflected in a mirror, screenshots shared on the court records show.
He saw a gray, wool coat hanging from a coat rack as a news show playing on a television screen covered the mob storming the Capitol.
“Anyone need a coat?” he said.
According to court records, he reached into the coat’s pockets and pulled out a brown, leather wallet. The wallet contained about $50, a TSA PreCheck card, two bank cards and a driver’s license. Lyons never returned it.
Lyons entered Pelosi’s personal office next, the statement of facts said. There, he removed a framed photograph of Pelosi with civil rights icon and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis. He took that too, the records said.
He texted a friend a picture of the photograph to someone else, telling them he was now a felon.
“I took this off Pelosi’s (expletive) desk,” he said.
He then snapped another picture of himself with the stolen photo as he left the Capitol in an Uber.
Lyons was found guilty on all six counts he was charged with, including five misdemeanors and one felony, court records show. He is facing 10 to 16 months in prison, according to the report.
