WASHINGTON – A Missouri man was sentenced to prison today for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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 2020 presidential election.
Christopher Brian Roe, 39, of Raytown, Missouri, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Roe pleaded guilty to three felony counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding certain officers on Nov. 2, 2023.
According to court documents, Roe assaulted three separate law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021. Roe traveled from his home in Kansas to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Roe brought a metal-tipped pitchfork, a six-inch knife, duct tape, and zip ties. After the rally, Roe went to the Capitol, arriving at the West Plaza at approximately 1:25 p.m. Roe continued to carry the pitchfork openly. While in the crowd at the West Plaza, another rioter grabbed the pitchfork in an attempt to stop Roe from using it. Roe, however, maintained possession as he continued to move closer to police officers situated behind a bicycle rack barricade.
Once Roe arrived toward the front of the crowd at the West Plaza, other rioters in the area began to fight with the police in an attempt to breach their line. Roe joined by attempting to pull a bicycle rack barricade away from officers and into the crowd. Roe then physically engaged with and shoved a law enforcement officer engaged with a separate rioter. Roe was then sprayed with a chemical irritant, causing him to drop the pitchfork and retreat.
Roe then made his way to the Upper West Terrace and entered the Capitol building via the Upper West Terrace Door at 2:38 p.m. Once inside, Roe continued into Statuary Hall and toward the Chamber of the House of Representatives. Roe moved through the Capitol for approximately 15 minutes before law enforcement officers attempted to forcibly remove Roe and a group of other rioters from the building. As an officer attempted to remove him, Roe shoved the officer several feet backward and wrapped his arm around the officer’s baton. Roe was then expelled from the building; however, he reentered via the East Rotunda Doors with another mob and further clashed with police.
After entering the building a second time, Roe made his way to the Rotunda before officers quickly expelled him again from the building while he forcefully resisted, including by shoving his shoulder into a police officer. Court documents say that, due to Roe’s resistance, the officers had to use significant force to oust him from the Capitol a second time.
Once outside of the Capitol, Roe moved to the north side where another large group of rioters were attempting to breach the North Door entrance. By the time Roe arrived at approximately 4:16 p.m., the outer doors were already heavily damaged and held open by rioters. The inner doors, however, remained shut as a small group of police officers guarded the entrance. In an attempt to breach these doors, Roe grabbed a bicycle rack and used it as a battering ram against the doors approximately ten times. Roe only stopped when the officers inside the Capitol deployed a fire extinguisher into the vestibule between the two sets of doors.
The FBI arrested Roe on July 18, 2023, in Missouri.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri provided valuable assistance.
The FBI’s Kansas City and Washington Field Offices investigated this case. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.
In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.