WASHINGTON — A Westport man pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting law enforcement while illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the Department of Justice.
Benjamin Cohen, 22, of Westport, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and will be sentenced by a U.S. district judge on Nov. 8, the DOJ said.
Citing court documents, the DOJ said that law enforcement officials determined Cohen was in a crowd of rioters gathered along a police line at the West Plaza of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
At 2:28 p.m., members of the crowd began pushing through the barriers and attacking U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan police, with Cohen near the front of the mob against the police line, the DOJ said.
A minute later, Cohen, along with other rioters, breached the police line and began pushing and shoving a group of officers with his hands as they moved forward, according to the DOJ.
At 2:48 p.m., Cohen entered the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where rioters were attacking police officers, the DOJ said. Documents included that he then joined in a coordinated "heave-ho" effort to push against the police line by pushing a rioter in front of him.
According to the DOJ, Cohen was inside the Tunnel as rioters shined strobe lights at officers and threw objects at them. He also observed a rioter use a chemical spray against police.
After rinsing his eyes with a bottle of water to wash out chemical spray in his eyes, Cohen resumed assisting rioters to push against the police line in the Tunnel until about 4 p.m. At one point, he entered a room in the Capitol through a broken window, the DOJ said.
Cohen was arrested on Aug. 9, 2023 in Connecticut by the FBI.
Over 1,450 people have been charged for their involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol, according to the DOJ. 10 people from Connecticut have been charged.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
