Bradenton man pleads guilty after using pepper spray on officers in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
A Bradenton man pleaded guilty to felony charges after he joined thousands of other rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Prosecutors say Tom Vournas, 63, known as “El Greco” and Leonard “The Riddler” Lobianco, 53, of North Port, disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that convened to count electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election. They joined other supporters of former President Donald Trump to dispute the official election certification, prosecutors say.
Vournas pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury, while Lobianco pleaded guilty to civil disorder, according to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Prosecutors say Vournas and Lobianco were members of a local chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and traveled from Florida to Washington D.C. to participate in the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
On the morning of Jan. 6, prosecutors say Vournas and Lobianco met a group of around 100 Proud Boys members that marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol.
Bradenton man pepper sprayed Capitol police, prosecutors say
Once the Proud Boys arrived at the Peace Circle, a restricted portion of the Capitol grounds, prosecutors say the two men and other members of the crowd “violently trampled metal barriers” before surging past officers.
Prosecutors say they then made their way toward the northwest stairs of the West Terrace of the Capitol, where police struggled to contain the mob “while certain members of the Proud Boys assaulted and engaged with police,” according to a news release.
Prosecutors say Vournas sprayed pepper gel toward police officers, hitting a United States Capitol Police officer in the face and injuring them.
Vournas and Lobianco entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door and took pictures inside before leaving a few minutes later, according to a news release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations arrested Vournas and Lobianco on Jan. 4, according to a news release.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth will sentence Vournas and Lobianco in January, according to a news release.
Over 1,000 people have been charged after breaching the Capitol that day, according to the Department of Justice. Vournas is the fourth person with ties to the Bradenton area who has pleaded guilty to charges connected to the Jan. 6 riot.
