Anthony Mastanduno, a Jan. 6 rioter known as “Shield Grampy,” admitted to using a stolen police shield and assaulting officers during the U.S. Capitol riot.
He pleaded guilty to nine counts and was ordered into custody pending sentencing on June 27.
He “was wearing a red baseball cap with a patch on the bill and ‘Trump 2020 Keep America Great!’ embroidered in white thread, a camouflage jacket, and a backpack” on Jan. 6, 2021, and “donned large, clear goggles with a blast elastic strap,” the court filing read.
Mastanduno, 61, was identified by online “sedition hunters” for his actions.
Mastanduno said he “was at the front of a line of rioters who overwhelmed police officers in the Crypt” and admitted that he “picked up and threw a blue, flagpole-like object into the mouth of the tunnel, as if throwing a javelin or spear toward the line of outnumbered police officers who were defending the Capitol against the mass of rioters.”
Mastanduno noted that he “obtained a police shield that had been stolen from the officers, which he used to push against the same line of officers at the mouth of the tunnel. While he pushed, he also utilized a telescoping baton, which can be worn on one’s hip and which expands in length, to strike at officers multiple times.”
Over 1,300 individuals have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, with more than 950 convicted and nearly 500 sentenced to incarceration.
Mastanduno’s plea coincided with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsing Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential race, despite criticizing Trump’s role in the Capitol attack.
“The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” McConnell said previously.
Mastanduno’s social media posts indicate his strong belief in Trump’s election lies.
“I hated Obama and hated his politics but still considered him my president because he won honestly,” Mastanduno wrote. “My Trump flag [will] fly high and proud in my front yard till 1/20/2025.”
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