WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 rioter who admitted he was armed with a concealed gun during the attack on the U.S. Capitol was found guilty Wednesday of all nine charges he faced.
Christopher Alberts, of Maryland, was arrested with a weapon on the night of Jan. 6, 2021, after having spent several hours on the Capitol grounds. He was wearing a gas mask and a protective vest and had a backpack containing ready-to-eat meals and other materials, including bungee cords.
After the verdict was read, Justice Department prosecutors sought to take Alberts into custody and keep him detained until his sentencing, which is scheduled for July 19. But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said he would allow Alberts to remain on pretrial release until then.
Alberts assured Cooper after his conviction that he would show up for his sentencing date.
The convictions could lead to more than five years in prison for Alberts, prosecutors said.
Alberts was accompanied by his fiancée in the courtroom Wednesday. Both appeared shocked when the verdict was read.
Alberts and one of his attorneys, John Pierce, declined to comment on the verdict.
In his testimony, Alberts said that “instinct took over” when he used a wooden pallet to “build a wall” between police and the rioters. He maintained that police used excessive force after thousands of Trump supporters entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol and began climbing the platform that had been set up for Joe Biden's inauguration.
“Somebody had to put a stop to it,” Alberts said. “It was wrong.”
Before he charged the police line, evidence showed Alberts assisted in keeping a pathway clear so that authorities could get another Jan. 6 rioter who needed medical assistance to safety.
Alberts maintained the crowd was “completely peaceful" and said there were “a couple thousand patriots on the lawn.” He said he “feared that he was about to be shot” when an officer placed a hand on their weapon.
On cross-examination, Alberts admitted that he called police "domestic terrorists," yelled "y'all wanted war, you asked for it, you got it," and threw a water bottle at police officers' feet.
