His hat gave him away. Fifth Missouri resident pleads guilty in U.S. Capitol riot case

A Missouri man prosecutors allege breached the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 with two others who are accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s name plate pleaded guilty Monday to a single misdemeanor count.

Paul S. Westover, of Lake St. Louis, entered the plea in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia during a hearing held by video conference.

His sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 16. He faces a maximum penalty of six months in prison, a $5,000 fine and five years’ probation. He also must pay $500 in restitution for damage to the Capitol building, which prosecutors say totaled about $1.5 million.

Westover, 53, was originally charged with obstructing, impeding or interfering with a law enforcement officer — a felony — and three misdemeanors: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business; and disruptive conduct in the Capitol buildings.

He pleaded guilty, however, to just one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building as part of a plea agreement with the government. That’s the same misdemeanor charge that other Kansas and Missouri residents have been pleading guilty to.

At the hearing, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg went over the government’s allegations against Westover.

“You traveled from St. Louis on January 5, you attended the ‘Stop the Steal Rally’ on the sixth, after which you entered the Capitol, entered the Senate wing door of the Capitol, entered the Crypt area, went through the circular area within the Speaker’s suite, into the rotunda and then ultimately left around 2:55, which is about 35 minutes after entering. Is that correct?”

“It is, your honor,” Westover replied.

Of the eight Kansans charged in connection with the Capitol insurrection, three have entered guilty pleas so far. The cases of five other Kansas residents — including three Proud Boys from Johnson County — are winding their way through federal court.

Seventeen Missouri residents have been charged, and five have now pleaded guilty.

Westover was charged Feb. 4 along with William Merry Jr., of St. Louis County. Merry’s niece, Emily Hernandez, of Sullivan, Missouri, was arrested on Jan. 15, becoming the first Missouri resident to face charges in the Capitol riot case. The three allegedly breached the Capitol together.

According to court documents, the FBI received “countless” tips after the riot regarding an unknown man standing in the Capitol and wearing a yellow St. Louis Blues stocking cap.

“The overwhelming majority of the tips stated that the unknown male was Paul Westover from Lake St. Louis, Missouri,” the documents said.

On Jan. 23, the FBI sent a legal request to Facebook regarding an account under Westover’s name, according to the documents. Facebook provided a video posted to the account on Jan. 6 that showed a crowd attempting to breach a police barricade on steps outside the Capitol building and guarded by a half-dozen officers, the documents said. The person recording the video, who court documents said was presumably Westover, appeared to be about four individuals back from the edge of the barricade.

“At the 45 second mark, an individual who appears to be the recorder... can be heard saying: ‘We are on the front line,’” the documents said. “Approximately fifteen seconds later, the crowd breaches the police barricade and begins charging past the retreating police officers, including the recorder of the video, who can be seen going up the Capitol steps along with the rest of the crowd.”

Court documents alleged that Hernandez was the woman in numerous videos and photos displaying Pelosi’s splintered name plate like a trophy. The FBI said it received online tips from at least three people — including Hernandez’s friends and acquaintances — saying she was the person seen in a widely circulated video by ITV News, a television network based in the United Kingdom, according to the documents.

Hernandez posted photos and videos of herself with the name plate on Snapchat and Facebook, the documents alleged.

The FBI consulted with the House of Representatives’ curator to determine the value of the Speaker’s name plate, court documents said. The curator estimated that the cost to replace the name plate would be $870.

Hernandez was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business; stealing, selling, conveying or disposing of U.S. property; disruptive conduct in the capitol buildings; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the capitol buildings.

Merry also is alleged to have been involved in stealing Pelosi’s name plate. Court documents said multiple tipsters contacted the FBI to identify a person seen in a widely circulated video that depicted rioters storming the U.S. Capitol building and streaming in and out of Pelosi’s office.

In the video, a man with a graying beard and wearing a red “Trump 2020” cap and red bandanna around his neck can be seen holding up a broken engraved piece of wood that appears to be from above the door in Pelosi’s office. Hernandez, the documents said, is standing next to Merry and holding up the same piece of fractured wood.

Merry was charged with theft of government property; knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct which impedes the conduct of government business; and disruptive conduct in the Capitol buildings.

Hernandez’s next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6, and Merry’s next court hearing is set to take place on Jan. 7.