FL Man Gets Prison Time For Charging Police, Stealing Riot Shield On Jan. 6

WASHINGTON, DC — A Lakeland man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday after authorities said he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, charged a police line, and stole a riot shield he then kept as a souvenir.

Joshua Christopher Doolin, 25, was convicted of numerous charges in March, including civil disorder, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and theft of government property. A federal judge also sentenced him to 36 months of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said in a release.

Doolin was among thousands of former President Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to disrupt a joint session of Congress gathered to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

According to prosecutors, Doolin traveled to Washington, D.C., with family members to attend a "Stop The Steal" rally hosted by Trump. Court documents said Doolin contemplated bringing a semi-automatic rifle but changed his mind at the last minute.

While at the rally, prosecutors said Doolin told a friend, "We are just waiting on word to go to the capital!!!" When his friend responded, "Don't get killed on your birthday, bro," Doolin texted, "I wouldn't mind dying with my family storming the capital [sic] on my birthday!"

Two hours later, Doolin did storm the Capitol, prosecutors said. He and a group approached the building and crossed a restricted perimeter before approaching a police line that formed to prevent the group from advancing.

According to prosecutors, Doolin went to the front of the group and used his cell phone to film while his friends and others attacked the police line. During the melee, authorities said Doolin was sprayed with chemical spray.

When the police line broke, Doolin and others surged toward the inaugural stage. Still filming, prosecutors said Doolin cheered, "Now it's ours, and we're taking our Capitol back. We're taking our Capitol back, baby!"

Around 3:45 p.m., Doolin stole a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield that he would carry with him the rest of the day, prosecutors said. He filmed himself with the shield, proclaiming, "I got a riot shield!"

Thirty minutes later, prosecutors said Doolin joined a crowd on the Lower West Terrace, where he used the riot shield to break another police line.

Prosecutors said Doolin left the tunnel shortly before 5 p.m. while carrying the stolen riot shield, now with an American flag draped over it.

Doolin was arrested in June 2021 in Lakeland, authorities said.

In the 31 months since the Jan. 6 attack, more than 1,100 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach, authorities said.