A jury in Washington has convicted a Fleming Island man of destroying government property as part of a crowd that broke open a door at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot there.
Marcus Smith, 47, faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years behind bars because the price of the damage exceeded $1,000.
The door in the Capitol Senate Wing dated from the 1850s and replacing it was estimated to cost about $21,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington said in a release on the verdict, which the jury reached about 4:35 p.m. Monday.
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Smith, who was arrested in January, had argued unsuccessfully to have his trial moved to Jacksonville, contending a jury in Washington would be biased against anyone charged in the Capitol riot.
A court docket indicates that the jury began hearing evidence last week in the case, which involved the felony charge and six misdemeanors. During deliberations, the jury asked U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich only one question, which involved the legal definition of “parade” or “picket.”
During the riot, supporters of former President Donald Trump overran the Capitol, which was closed to the public for both the Senate and House of Representative to certify the electoral results of the 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that Smith had traveled from Jacksonville with three other people to “have his voice heard,” and that on Jan. 6 he came to the Capitol with a large group of rioters. Rioters smashed open an outside door and Smith entered about two minutes later, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, then headed down a hallway and found the passage blocked by a line of police keeping people out.
Smith spotted several people throwing themselves against a door to Room S-131, trying to break it down, the prosecutor’s office said, and Smith joined the group, striking the door with his shoulder several times until it broke open.
Smith left the building after walking farther and finding the route block again by police, the release said.
Friedrich scheduled a Jan. 10 hearing to sentence Smith.
