After being found guilty of hurling smoke bombs at police officers manning the US Capitol during the January 6 riots, a Maryland police officer will spend a year and a half behind bars.

According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who was appointed by Donald Trump, sentenced 25-year-old Justin Lee to 18 months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and $7,500 in restitution. In a bench trial, McFadden found Lee guilty of trespassing, assaulting officers, and disruptive conduct.

Associated coverage:

Although McFadden called Lee’s conduct cowardly, he pointed out that his courageous efforts on July 22, 2023, when he shot and killed an armed 19-year-old stabbing suspect at a shopping mall, were a major factor in his sentencing, according to the Washington Post.

Former police officer McFadden told the Post, “You know better than most people how wrong assaults on police officers are.”

After seeing policemen use force against other rioters that day, Lee claimed, as reported in August, that he was merely attempting to make a message against police brutality. McFadden rejected this assertion.

McFadden told The Associated Press that no police officer should have to put up with these assaults and provocations.

On that day, Lee was one of the many Trump supporters gathered at the Capitol, blocking the Electoral College vote’s certification. He was seen on security footage with a military-style medical pack with two side pockets and a gaiter-style Maryland flag face covering.

Court filings state that Lee set a smoke bomb on fire and threw it into the tunnel entrance on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, where a group of rioters attacked a group of police officers who were outnumbered. Court filings state that smoke filled the scene when the device impacted a Metropolitan Police Officer’s shield.

After participating in the uprising, Lee was hired as a Montgomery County Police Officer; however, in October 2023, he was suspended without pay after being arrested for his involvement in the Jan. 6 unrest.

He applied for the job in July 2021, around six months after the January 6 incidents, and the department recruited him on January 31, 2022, according to the agency.

During his tenure as a police officer, Lee was placed on administrative leave for his involvement in the shooting death of a man carrying a knife. Lee was not charged in the shooting by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

In July 2023, the police department found out that Lee was the focus of an FBI investigation while he was on administrative leave.

As part of its regular hiring procedure, the Montgomery County Police Department thoroughly investigates applicants’ backgrounds to make sure they are qualified for work, the news release stated. Since the Justice Department did not identify Lee in relation to the January 6 rebellion, his involvement in it was not found throughout this process.

He was fired last month, according to the Washington Post, which cited police.

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