WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Maryland police officer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors announced.
Justin Lee, 25, was convicted of assaulting officers, trespassing, and disorderly conduct after a bench trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden. In addition to the prison term, Lee was sentenced to 12 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution.
Court documents revealed that Lee threw a smoke bomb into the Lower West Terrace tunnel, where rioters were attacking outnumbered police officers defending the Capitol. The device struck a Metropolitan Police Officer’s shield and filled the area with smoke, further endangering officers already under siege.
Judge McFadden, a former police officer, condemned Lee’s actions as “cowardly” during the sentencing but acknowledged Lee’s prior “heroic” conduct as a mitigating factor. In July 2023, while serving as a Montgomery County police officer, Lee fatally shot a 19-year-old armed stabbing suspect at a shopping center, an incident for which Maryland prosecutors declined to pursue charges.
Lee joined the Montgomery County Police Department in January 2022, a year after the Capitol attack, submitting his application six months after the riot. He was suspended without pay following his arrest in October 2023 for his participation in the insurrection.
The sentencing highlights the consequences for those who attacked law enforcement during the Capitol riot, including individuals who later entered the ranks of police departments.