FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington.
John Minchillo / AP Photo
Shippensburg man who fought police on Jan. 6, planned to storm Capitol, pleads guilty
Charles Smith said militias would be on hand and with enough people they could “storm the buildings and take out the trash right there.”
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Brett Sholtis
John Minchillo / AP Photo
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington.
A Shippensburg man who broadcast videos of himself and a friend as they fought with police during the insurrection and entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Charles Bradford Smith, 25, is guilty of conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral college votes in the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Justice announced.
Smith is also guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding police. His plea agreement noted he did so “while carrying a dangerous weapon.” Co-defendant Marshall Neefe of Newville in York County, faces similar charges.
Documents signed by Smith Thursday show he and Neefe began forming a plan to interrupt the certification proceedings shortly after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner in early November.
Messages show Smith hoped for “war” and said then-President Donald Trump was “literally calling people to DC in a show of force.”
Using Facebook Messenger, he encouraged others to go to D.C. on Jan. 6, adding, “Trump is asking everyone to go,” documents state.
“That’s the day Pence counts up the votes and they need supporters to fill the streets, so when they refuse to back down the city doesn’t burn down right away,” Smith said. “It’s the only time he’s ever specifically asked for people to show up. He didn’t say that’s why, but it’s obviously why.”
Smith said militias would be on hand and with enough people, they could “storm the buildings and take out the trash right there.”
On the day of the riot at the Capitol, he arrived at the capitol with a KA-BAR knife — patterned after what U.S. Marines used to carry — and worked with others to prevent police officers from responding to a surge of rioters.
Smith helped hoist “a large metal sign frame holding an oversized ‘TRUMP’ sign into a defensive line” of police officers who were trying to stop rioters from advancing on the Capitol’s West Front plaza, documents state.
An attorney for Smith was not available for comment. He is set to be sentenced in September. His plea agreement indicates he could face up to 20 years for conspiracy charges and eight for other charges.
At least 71 Pennsylvanians have been charged in the January 6th riot. More than 850 have been charged nationwide.
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