A Florida couple pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges related to their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Jamie Buteau and Jennifer Buteau, of Ocala, Florida, entered their guilty pleas in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 20, 2023.
Jamie Buteau pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Jennifer Buteau pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to court documents, the Buteaus traveled from their home in Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on Jan. 6, 2021. At approximately 2:25pm, the Buteaus entered the U.S. Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door after the door had been breached, and an adjacent window broken by a crowd of rioters. Once inside, the couple moved with a large mob to a lobby separating the Crypt from the Capitol Visitors Center.
As the Buteaus moved to the lobby, U.S. Capitol Police Officers attempted to establish a line to hold back the rioting mob. Court documents state that the Capitol Police Officers, overwhelmed by the rioters, began to retreat from the area and attempted to pull down a set of rolling doors that would have protected the officers and separated the lobby from the Visitors Center. As these doors were closing, the rioters blocked the doors to prevent them from closing. Jamie Buteau picked up a chair and threw it at the officers. The chair bounced off the wall and hit one officer in the arm.
The Buteaus then walked through the Capitol building, including the Visitors Center, orientation lobby, and Crypt, before exiting through the House wing doors at approximately 2:45pm.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Jamie Buteau as #188 in its seeking information photos, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office.
In the 30 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,069 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or online.
