Alabama man who told police at Jan. 6 riots âyouâre gonna loseâ pleads guilty
A north Alabama man has pleaded guilty to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Bobby Wayne Russell, 49, of Falkville, entered his guilty plea Monday in D.C. to one count of assault, resisting, or impeding certain officers and aiding and abetting, which is a felony crime, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth will sentence Russell on Nov. 17.
Russell was one of more than a dozen Alabama residents charged in connection with Capitol breach during a joint session of Congress which had convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Russell was among rioters confronting officers at a line of bicycle barricades on the southwest side of the Capitol grounds.
Russell, wearing a hooded “Alabama Crimson Tide” sweatshirt resisted police orders to move away.
Russell resisted officers’ efforts to get him to back away from the barricade. He held a section of bike rack pressed between his upper arm and side, clinging to it despite being sprayed with OC spray.
Bobby Wayne Russell, 48, of Falkville, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, both felony charges. (Federal Court Documents)
When the barricade broke apart due to the involvement of other rioters, Russell grabbed the jacket of a Metropolitan Police Department officer, pulling the officer down with him as he fell headlong down a short flight of stairs.
Later that day, at approximately 4:20 pm, law enforcement officers formed a line and attempted to clear the area near the Senate wing doors. Russell refused orders to leave the area and pushed his back and buttocks into the riot shields of several officers.
He then turned around to face one officer and declared, “”There’s more of us than you guys, you’re gonna lose.”
Russell faces a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison.
The case has been investigated by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and Washington Field Office, which identified Russell as #492 on its seeking information photos.
In the 29 months since the riots, more than 1,000 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.