Jan. 6 Capitol riot: Edgewater man, 62, pleads guilty to felony charge

EDGEWATER, Fla. — A 62-year-old Edgewater man pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, United States Capitol riot, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

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Howard Adams pleaded guilty to interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder while in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Adams will be sentenced March 31; he faces a maximum of five years in prison. He was arrested March 10, 2022, in Edgewater.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Adams and others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

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Court records said that shortly before 2 p.m. Jan. 6, 2021, Adams approached the U.S. Capitol across the east plaza after rioters pushed through a line of police officers.

Shortly before 2:30 p.m., a crowd pushed away officers and entered the building; Adams followed them into the Capitol Rotunda and through Statuary Hall, records said.

Prosecutors said that minutes later, he and others went to the House chamber doorway but were unable to open the doors, so the rioters began chanting, “Break it down!” and “Stop the steal!”

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US Capitol protests Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the US Capitol in Washington, DC, as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Adams returned to the Rotunda, where he walked toward a line of officers.

“As he did so, he unfurled and raised a flag while raising both hands,” the agency said in a news release. “(Adams) made physical contact with one of the officers as the officer attempted to push (Adams) in the opposite direction toward the exit and deployed a chemical irritant against (Adams).”

Several people behind Adams surged forward toward the police line and Adams exited the building shortly thereafter.

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More than 950 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol breach since it happened.

Anyone with tips is asked to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 800-225-5324 or to visit tips.fbi.gov.

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