Conservative activist’s son found guilty of bashing window, leading mob in Jan. 6 riot

The son of a notable conservative activist was found guilty of 10 felonies for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot, which includes bashing a Capitol Building window, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Leo Bren Bozell IV was found guilty of assaulting a police officer, destruction of government property, obstructing a preceding and other crimes. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege Bozell led rioters up the stairs of the Capitol Building, bashed a window, entered the Capitol and made his way to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office and later led a mob to the Senate floor.

His father is Brent Bozell III, who founded Media Research Center, Parents Television Council and other conservative media organizations.

Bozell was identified via online tips to the FBI, and was arrested in February 2021. Investigators said witnesses recognized his sweatshirt — emblazoned with the insignia of his children’s rural Pennsylvania private school where he was a basketball coach.

Prosecutors claimed that the defendant also helped organize the “Stop the Steal” rally in front of the Capitol which preceded the riot. In a pretrial filing, prosecutors said he was “a major contributor to the chaos, the destruction, and the obstruction at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

His attorneys denied that he took part in any violence or assisted in taking over police lines during the riot.

“In fact, video evidence will show that Mr. Bozell assisted in some small way law enforcement officers that he thought could be helped by his assistance,” attorney William Shipley wrote in a filing. “[Bozell] was — for the most part — simply lost and wandering from place-to-place observing events as they transpired.”

More than 1,100 people have been arrested in relation to the Jan. 6 riots, including nearly 400 on charges of assaulting a police officer, the Justice Department said.

The longest sentence — 22 years — for a Jan. 6 defendant so far was handed down to former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio earlier this week. Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean and Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes are tied with the second longest sentences — 18 years — for their role in the insurrection.

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