A Washington, DC jury on Thursday handed down a guilty verdict in the case of an Ohio man who claimed he was just following then-president Donald Trump’s orders when he stole a bottle of liquor and a coat rack while participating in the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814.
The jury took fewer than three hours to convict Dustin Byron Thompson of five charges, including obstructing an official proceeding, stemming from his conduct on 6 January 2021, the day a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in hopes of stopping Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Thompson had previously testified in his own defence and had admitted to what he described as his own “disgraceful” behaviour, telling jurors he could not believe the things he did that day, and calling the “mob mentality and group think” exhibited during the riot “very real and very dangerous”.
But Thompson had also attempted to sway the jury against conviction by borrowing a tactic made famous by Nazi defendants at Nuremberg and Vietnam-era war criminal William Calley during his trial for the My Lai massacre: He claimed he was following “presidential orders” given by then-president Donald Trump and his allies that day.
"If the president is giving you almost an order to do something, I felt obligated to do that," he said.
A jury disagreed, and after the verdict was read, US District Judge Reggie Walton ordered Thompson taken into custody pending sentencing, calling him a flight risk and a danger to the public.
He said Thompson’s testimony had been “totally disingenuous” and blamed “charlatans” like Mr Trump, who he said care more for power than for democracy.
"And as a result of that, it's tearing our country apart," he said.
One juror, who spoke to reporters after the trial, said Mr Trump was not on trial but “everyone agrees” he is “culpable as an overall narrative”.
“Lots of people were there and then went home. Dustin Thompson did not,” they added.
Additional reporting by agencies
