One of the first Chicagoans charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was found guilty Friday on all six counts he faced related to the mob breach.
Kevin Lyons, 40, of the Gladstone Park neighborhood, had allegedly posted a photo of the plaque outside then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ransacked office. The statement of facts Lyons agreed to with federal prosecutors offers new details describing what happened as he roamed Pelosi’s room and removed items.
The North Side man gave prosecutors plenty of clues to work with. He publicly posted his car route from Chicago to Washington, D.C., the day before the riot, writing, “I’m heading to DC to STOP THE STEAL,” court records show.
On Jan. 6, he recorded himself throughout the day and texted updates to others while weathering tear gas and flash-bangs as rioters broke into the building after a rally hosted by then-President Donald Trump.
“We’re storming the Capitol building,” he said. “I guess we’re all going to jail.”
[ 36 people from Illinois have been charged for taking part in the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 ]
He called the riot an “(expletive) revolution” as he ascended stairs to the Capitol’s Senate Wing doors, court records show.
Once inside, the man goaded politicians hiding elsewhere nearby while sharing chants with the mob.
“Nancy, where are you?” he said, referring to the Californian representative who then led the Democrat’s House majority.
Then he found her office on the second floor, court records say. He called out her name again and took a photograph of the plaque outside her wall.
He posted the photo to Instagram, court records say, but took it down after about an hour.
Back inside Pelosi’s office, Lyons walked around. He caught his own image reflected in a mirror, screenshots shared on the court records show.
He saw a gray, wool coat hanging from a coat rack as a news show playing on a television screen covered the mob storming the Capitol.
“Anyone need a coat?” he said.
According to court records, he reached into the coat’s pockets and pulled out a brown, leather wallet. The wallet contained about $50, a TSA PreCheck card, two bank cards and a driver’s license. Lyons never returned it.
The Chicago man entered Pelosi’s personal office next, the statement of facts said. There, he removed a framed photograph of Pelosi with civil rights icon and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis. He took that too, the records said.
He texted a friend a picture of the photograph to someone else, telling them he was now a felon.
“I took this off Pelosi’s (expletive) desk,” he said.
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He then snapped another picture of himself with the stolen photo as he left the Capitol in an Uber.
Lyons signed to agree that all of the facts stated in the court records describing his time in the Capitol are true, the records show.
The statement of facts is part of a “stipulated trial” plea deal that allows Lyons to accept conviction as if a guilty plea had been entered without admitting guilt. Through the agreement, he has waived his right to a trial by jury.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Lyons guilty on counts of entering and remaining in a restrict building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, entering and remaining in certain room in the Capitol, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, demonstrating in the Capitol and obstructing an official proceeding, the records show.
The counts include five misdemeanors and one felony, court records show. A preliminary sentencing guidelines estimate shows he might be sentenced to 10 to 16 months in prison.
His sentencing is set for July 14.
