Shelbyville man who stole police baton to beat police during Jan. 6 riot pleads guilty
A man from Shelbyville who was accused of bringing a revolver loaded with hollow-point bullets onto U.S. Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection has pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
Mark Mazza, 57, will be sentenced for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, and carrying a pistol without a license, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
He faces up to 20 years imprisonment for the first charge, and up to five years imprisonment for the second charge. Mazza was originally indicted by a grand jury on thirteen charges.
During a December hearing, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia told Mazza the charges against him were "extremely serious."
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"This case is the only case that I'm aware of where someone had a loaded firearm on Capitol grounds the day of Jan. 6," Judge Zia Faruqui said.
Court documents say Mazza brought a revolver loaded with two hollow-point rounds and three shotgun shells onto U.S. Capitol grounds, but he "lost possession" of the firearm at some point in the afternoon during the riots, the news release said.
Later, Mazza stole a police baton from an officer and started swinging at other officers, hitting one in the arm, according to prosecutors.
Two days after the insurrection, Mazza filed a false police report in Indiana claiming he'd lost his firearm at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati, court documents say.
Mazza's sentencing hearing will take place in September.
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mark Mazza pleads guilty to "extremely serious" Jan. 6 riot charges
