Joshua Black, Alabama man shot while storming US Capitol, convicted in Jan. 6 attack
Joshua Matthew Black, an Alabama man who was shot in the face while storming the U.S. Capitol in 2021, was convicted on felony and misdemeanor charges Friday for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Black, 46, of Leeds was found guilty of the following five charges in federal court in Washington, D.C.:
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
- Unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds or buildings.
- Entering and remaining on the floor of Congress.
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Black, who admitted to carrying a knife during the Capitol breach, is set to be sentenced on May 5. He faces up to 10 years in prison for some of the charges. Other charges carry a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, and others carry a sentence of up to six months, federal authorities said.
“According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, Black was among a mob of rioters illegally on the Capitol grounds,” the Justice Department said. “He entered the Capitol Building and was captured in photographs and on video, posted to social media sites, standing on the floor of the Senate chamber.
“Black later posted a video to YouTube in which he discussed entering the Capitol and the floor of the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021,” the Justice Department said. “He explained that ‘once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like officially, the . . . crowd went crazy. I mean, . . . it became a mob. We crossed the gate, we got up.’ He also admitted carrying a knife to the Capitol because ‘you’re not allowed to carry guns in DC and I don’t like being defenseless.’”
Black, who ran a lawn care service in Moody, was seen on video and in photos of the Jan. 6 riot, wearing a red hat, camouflage jacket and yellow gloves. He appeared to be bleeding from the left cheek, and later said he was trying to protect a police officer, or police officers, during the breach.
Two days after the riots, federal records state, someone using the username “LetUs Talk” posted two videos to YouTube.
Like Black, in videos shot in Senate chambers, the man had blood on the left side of his face and said in the YouTube video he had been shot with a projectile. In that video, federal prosecutors say, Black discussed entering the Capitol and being on the Senate floor.
When he was hit in the face with a projectile and offered medical attention by those he believed to be law enforcement, court records state, Black told them he believed they were trying to pull him “behind enemy lines” and said, “No. I’m with them. I’m here to defend the constitution. I’m a patriot.”
“(Black) has stated that he was led to the Capitol by Jesus and if called to go again, he would,’’ according to federal court documents. “After being shot in the face and spitting out a substantial amount of blood (he says his mouth filled with blood 6-7 times) and after another person at the Capitol dug out some portion of the projectile from his cheek, the defendant continued on to the Senate floor.”
During a search of Black’s home on Jan. 14, 2021, the FBI recovered the knife Black said he carried at the Capitol, federal authorities said. The FBI arrested Black later that day at a police station in Moody. He was initially held without bond, but court records indicate he was later released on his own recognizance.
During a hearing in January 2021, a federal judge in Birmingham noted that although Black’s actions appeared to be passive that day, that may not always be the case.
“Just because he was passive in the Senate chambers, will he remain so if God tells him something else?” U.S. Magistrate Judge John H. England, III said. “God could tell him to do something a little more violent, couldn’t he?”
Black is one of nearly a dozen Alabama residents who were charged for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 unrest at the U.S. Capitol. At least three of them have pleaded guilty to federal crimes; others have been awaiting trial.
One Alabama man, Russell Dean Alford, 62, of Hokes Bluff, was convicted in October 2022 for his role in the riot. Alford is set to be sentenced on Jan. 23 and faces up to three years in prison.
More than 950 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia for their roles in the Capitol breach, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice. More than 284 individuals have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including about 99 people who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
AL.com reporter Carol Robinson contributed to this article.