A Pennsylvania man who used metal and wooden poles, as well as an officer’s helmet and riot shield, to wildly hit and stab officers guarding the United States Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots will face prison.
U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss, a Barack Obama appointee, sentenced Joshua Lee Atwood, 31, to 48 months — or four years — in prison, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office. Atwood previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon.
In their sentencing memo requesting 63 months imprisonment, the top of the range, prosecutors said Atwood’s felonious conduct that day was part of a large scale riot that almost succeeded in preventing the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election from being carried out, frustrating the peaceful transition of Presidential power, and throwing the US into a Constitutional crisis.
“As he fought on the mob’s front line, Atwood relentlessly attacked the police with any object within his reach that could be used as a weapon — from a piece of fabric to a metal baseball bat,” according to the prosecution.
“As he beat the officers in the police line, Atwood called them ‘pieces of s—’ and taunted that they were ‘betraying [their] country.'”
“His efforts were motivated by an animus towards the proceedings that were supposed to be happening inside the Capitol building: it is no coincidence that the officers fending off Atwood’s and others’ attacks were defending the very building where an important democratic process was to be completed,” the prosecutor continued.
“That Atwood’s acts did not directly cause any grave injury is nothing short of a miracle and a testament to the officers’ training and resilience.”
Atwood was also present during the peak of the violence, which occurred between 4:51 and 5:03 p.m.
He made contact with one officer with a bottle before quickly throwing a “long silver pole” into the tunnel, where it sailed over the tops of a few officers’ heads before striking one in the back.
He then threw a “small square object” into the tunnel before striking multiple officers with a long wooden pole in a stabbing motion with significant force, according to the FBI.
Officials said Atwood struck two Metropolitan Police Department officers before taking a step back and jamming the pole into another officer’s helmet and face plate.
“Atwood then pulled the pole back and threw it in the direction of two MPD officers, hitting their shields and ricocheting off the south wall,” according to the court papers.
The pole also struck a Virginia State Police trooper’s head and neck.
On Jan. 6, Atwood yelled at police, saying, “F— you guys, you are all pieces of s—,” and “Everyone of you should be ashamed of yourself.” All of you motherf—ers are pieces of s—. Why would you betray your country like this? “Do you love your country or do you want civil, communist f—-?”
He also entered the Capitol building by passing through a broken window near the tunnel.
A month after Jan. 6, he was arrested for disorderly conduct in Hanover, Pennsylvania, after an argument with officers conducting a traffic crash investigation escalated into a fight with a tow truck driver.
The investigating officer detected a strong marijuana odor coming from Atwood’s vehicle, and Atwood claimed he had no idea what marijuana smelled like, according to the document.
Atwood chastised law enforcement as they attempted to relocate the involved vehicles, claiming officers were simply “following orders like the Jews did when they entered concentration camps,” officials said.
The comment sparked an argument between Atwood and a Jewish tow truck operator. An officer intervened in the conflict. Police obtained a search warrant for Atwood’s vehicle and discovered marijuana and a glass pipe. Atwood eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined.
According to court documents, Atwood, who lives in Burgettstown with his fiancée and three young children, was first identified in the Jan. 6 case when a tipster informed police that they recognized him from a 2011 mug shot.
A prominent scar on the left side of his forehead had revealed his identity. In 2023, Atwood was arrested in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, on charges of robbery and malicious assault.
Following the arrest, a patrolman made the connection after reviewing footage of Atwood from January 6 and notified the FBI.
