WASHINGTON — A Montgomery County police officer was indicted Wednesday on two felony charges for allegedly assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Justin Lee, 25, of Rockville, appeared before a federal magistrate judge Thursday afternoon for arraignment on seven counts, including felony counts of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer. Because Lee was charged by indictment, a detailed statement of facts was not available in his case.
Lee spoke little during the hearing except to tell the magistrate judge his police firearm had been reclaimed by the Montgomery County Police Department because he was on administrative leave. Lee was released on his own recognizance on standard conditions, including that he not keep a firearm in his home.
Lee was ordered to return to court on Oct. 25. His case was assigned to District Judge Trevor McFadden.
In July, 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.
The Montgomery County Police Department released a statement Thursday afternoon saying Lee had been placed on administrative leave as a result of the shooting, and was suspended without pay after the department learned about his indictment.
"Upon investigation, it was determined that Lee participated in the January 6 insurrection prior to being hired as a Montgomery County Police Officer," the department said. "His application for employment with the department was submitted in July of 2021, approximately six months after the events of January 6."
The department also said it was conducting a comprehensive review of its background investigation process.
The Montgomery County officer isn’t the first member of law enforcement to be charged in connection with Jan. 6. Last year, Thomas Webster, a veteran member of the NYPD, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for violently assaulting a DC Police officer on Capitol grounds during the riot. A month earlier, Thomas Robertson, who was an officer with the Rocky Mount Police Department in Virginia at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to seven years in prison on multiple felony counts. Earlier this month, a former Tennessee sheriff’s deputy, Ronald Colton McAbee, was convicted of assaulting two officers during a prolonged melee at the entrance of the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
Editor's Note: A previously published version of this story used a photo depicting a different officer Justin Lee. That story and photo have been removed.