VA Jan. 6 Rioter: 'I Just Wanna Be Part Of A Riot'

VIENNA, VA — A Vienna man was found guilty Tuesday in DC federal court on felony and misdemeanor charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Prosecutors say the actions of the defendant and others disrupted a Congress joint session convened to count electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election in which now-President Joe Biden was declared to be the winner. Supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Trump claimed the election was stolen from him.

Hatchet Speed, 41, of Vienna, is one of the defendants on trial related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. He was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Speed is a U.S. Navy veteran, according to the Associated Press.

According to prosecutors, Speed had driven from his home to DC on Jan. 6, noting over a text his home was "close enough to the city for those days when I just wanna be part of a riot." He attended a "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House Ellipse before heading to the U.S. Capitol. When arriving, he found topped fencing on Capitol grounds and saw a rioter use a large crowbar to break into an emergency exit door near the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office.

Prosecutors say Speed learned then-Vice President Mike Pence validated certain ballots he considered "invalid" in the presidential election.

"I was like, ‘I’m going in there. Like I have no respect for people in this building'," Speed said, according to court documents. "They have no respect for me. I have no respect for them.’ [S]o we all went in and we took control."

Speed reportedly entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door around 2:51 p.m., about two minutes after rioters breached the door. Speed was in the Capitol from around 2:51 p.m. to 3:34 p.m., according to prosecutors.

Speed left the building because he believed Congress postponed the certification of electoral votes, according to his texts presented in court.

After leaving the building, he took photos of rioters in the northwest courtyard outside the U.S. Capitol building and on the steps at the East Front. He also photographed riot police moving toward the U.S. Capitol Building and the inaugural stage at the Lower West Terrace.

During an investigation of Speed, an undercover FBI employee met with him. Speed explained that he left the building because he believed Congress postponed the certification of electoral votes. Speed said the mob "controlled the entire building," and that "Congress and Senate had evacuated through the tunnels, so nobody was there except us," according to court documents.

Speed faces up to 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties for the felony obstruction charge. Sentencing in DC federal court is scheduled for May 8.

Speed was also convicted in January of illegally having unregistered gun silencers in Virginia federal court. During a meeting with an undercover employee, Speed discussed antisemitic and anti-government beliefs, suggesting violent action and an approach to "wipe out" the opposition — what he called Jewish people. Sentencing in this case is scheduled for April 13.