WASHINGTON — A former Montgomery County Police officer was convicted Friday of assaulting police on Jan. 6 by throwing a smoke bomb at a line of officers.
Justin Lee, 26, of Rockville, was found of two felony counts of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police, as well as three misdemeanors. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who presided over Lee’s bench trial, acquitted him of two additional misdemeanor charges.
Lee, who wore a distinctive Maryland flag gaiter on Jan. 6, was arrested last October after federal investigators identified him as part of the mob that attempted to force its way pat police defending the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol. In a statement Friday, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves’ office said Lee can be see throwing a “smoking and sparking object” toward officers that created a billowing smoke cloud.
Approximately six months after the riot, Lee applied to and was hired by the Montgomery County Police Department. In a statement following his arrest, the department said Lee’s involvement in the riot was not discovered during a background check because he had not yet been identified by the FBI in connection with Jan. 6.
In July 2023, Lee shot and killed a man accused of stabbing multiple people in Montgomery County after he charged at Lee. The suspect was later identified as 19-year-old Franklin Castro Ordonez, of Gaithersburg. While on administrative leave in connection with that shooting, the department was informed he was the subject of an FBI investigation in connection with Jan. 6.
According to a statement from the department last October, Lee was then suspended without pay and the department began steps to terminate his employment. The department also initiated a review of its background investigation process.
After announcing his verdict Friday, McFadden scheduled Lee to be sentenced on Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. Lee was allowed to remain free on personal recognizance until then.
In the 43 months since the attack on the Capitol, nearly 1,500 people have been arrested and charged with crimes ranging from entering a restricted area to seditious conspiracy. More than 1,100 defendants have now been convicted in connection with the attack.