Man accused of hitting police with large stick on Jan. 6 pleads guilty to felony

A Virginia man accused of hitting police with a large stick during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced.

Jonathan G. Mellis, 35, of Williamsburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty in D.C. to “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.”

Bodycam footage from officers during the Jan. 6 riot show Mellis and others “using sticks and other items as weapons to assault law enforcement officers” as they protected an entrance to the Capitol, according to the DOJ release. 

Other footage reportedly shows Mellis “repeatedly striking and making stabbing motions towards the officers with the large wooden stick in hand.”

Mellis also entered the Capitol grounds and shared videos to Instagram in which he said he and others were “storming the f—ing castle” and “ain’t f—ing leaving,” the release notes. 

A sentencing hearing for Mellis is scheduled for this September. The charge carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence and financial penalties. 

“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 presidential election,” the the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The DOJ reports that more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack in the nearly two-and-a-half years since, and that the investigation is ongoing.