Former Missouri National Guard member, ex-FAA worker pleads guilty in Capitol riot case

A former member of the Missouri National Guard pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to one misdemeanor count in connection with the Capitol riot.

Brian Scott McGee, of the central Missouri town of Auxvasse, entered a guilty plea to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The hearing was held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

His sentencing is scheduled for Oct 13. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $5,000 fine and also must pay $500 restitution for nearly $2.9 million in damages the government said resulted from the attack.

McGee, 61, is the 20th Missouri resident to be convicted in a Capitol riot case. Of those, 16 have been sentenced. The cases of seven other Missouri defendants — including a St. Joseph couple charged just last week — are ongoing.

McGee was arrested Feb. 9 in Jefferson City on four misdemeanor counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The government dropped the other charges in exchange for his guilty plea on the parading count.

According to a “statement of offense” signed Monday by McGee, he left Missouri on Jan. 4, 2021, to drive to Washington, D.C., stopping overnight to stay with a family member in Kentucky. McGee had been corresponding on Twitter with the wife of co-defendant Jeremy Harrison of Florida, the statement said, and McGee and the Harrisons made plans to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally together in Washington on Jan. 6.

The three shared a ride to the Ellipse that morning, the document said, and after watching former President Donald Trump’s speech, they went to the Capitol. McGee and Harrison entered the restricted area on the grounds, but Harrison’s wife decided not to do so. After the mob breached the Capitol, the document said, McGee and Harrison made their way up the west side of the grounds and entered the building around 2:24 p.m. through the Senate Wing door.

The two stayed in the building for less than two minutes, according to the statement. They remained near the Senate Wing door entrance, then left to meet up with Harrison’s wife, who had stayed outside.

The probable cause affidavit filed in the case said McGee was contacted by phone on Aug. 4, 2021, to schedule a personal interview with the FBI. McGee told the FBI that people in the crowd said U.S. Capitol Police were allowing protesters to enter the building, the document said.

“McGee further claimed that he observed four or five U.S. Capitol police officers wearing riot gear gesture for people to enter the U.S. Capitol and fist bumping them as they walked by,” it said.

But “a review of Capitol CCTV in the area where McGee entered the Capitol does not corroborate McGee’s statement that police waved rioters into the building and fist-bumped them as they entered,” the affidavit said.

On Oct. 27, 2021, the document said, the FBI interviewed “Witness 1,” who was one of McGee’s former supervisors when McGee was in the Missouri National Guard. The former supervisor identified the man in the surveillance images as McGee.

The next day, the document said, the FBI interviewed “Witness 2,” who worked at the Columbia Regional Airport Safety Department.

“Witness 2 is personally familiar with McGee because McGee occasionally works at the Columbia Regional Airport,” the document said. It said that “Witness 2” identified McGee as the man in the video and images taken during the riot.

That same day, the affidavit said, the FBI interviewed “Witness 3,” who was McGee’s former supervisor at the Federal Aviation Administration Tech Operations Office. That person also identified McGee in the videos and photos.

An FBI agent interviewed McGee in person on Feb. 14, 2022, the document said, and showed him photos taken from the Capitol surveillance video.

“McGee identified himself, wearing a red hat and having a small U.S. flag, as one of the individuals in the surveillance video that unlawfully entered the Capitol,” it said.

During the Feb. 14 interview, the affidavit said, McGee told the agent he had entered the Capitol with “Jeremy” and another person, whose name was redacted in the document. McGee said he had met the two online and didn’t know their last names but knew they were from Florida.

Florida FBI agents interviewed Harrison on June 30, 2022, the document said, and Harrison told them he and his wife had met McGee at the Crystal City Marriott in Washington.

Harrison admitted entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit. Before he went in, he said, he saw a person in tactical gear who he thought was law enforcement, directing people inside the building.

Harrison — who also pleaded guilty Friday to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building — said he saw police inside the building appearing to block off one area but allowing people to continue to another location, the affidavit said.

“Harrison stated that he thought it was ‘ok’ to be inside the Capitol building at first, but then noticed the ‘chaos’ and heard people screaming and therefore decided to leave the building.”