LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An Elizabethtown, Kentucky, man who was the first person to illegally enter the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, was convicted by a federal jury of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.
Michael Sparks, 46, was found guilty March 1 of felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder as well as misdemeanors for entering and remaining in restricted areas and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sparks, who was arrested Jan. 19, 2021, will be sentenced July 9. The release did not mention the potential sentence. A man who went with Sparks from Kentucky to the Capitol pleaded guilty to assault and obstruction charges and was sentenced in October to four years and two months in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Evidence during the trial in Washington D.C., included video surveillance showing Sparks being the first rioter to enter the building through a window where he jumped down to the floor about 2:30 p.m., according to the news release.
"Despite others' screams of 'don’t go in,' Sparks climbed through a window next to the Senate Window Door that had been broken by rioters with a police shield," the news release said.
Once inside, Sparks followed a group of men who chased a U.S. Capitol Police officer up a flight of stairs. He did not retreat when other officers attempted to stop the group, and instead walked to the front and confronted the first officer, yelling, "This is our America! This is our America!"
In addition, jurors were shown evidence leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, where Sparks wrote on social media, "We want a civil war to be clear" and "It's time to drag them out of Congress. It's a tyranny."
And Sparks also asked on a message board, "If we have to have one person from the House to contest electoral on the 6th, who will it be(?)" and told people "a new dawn is coming. Be ready. Just pray and trust the Lord."
Sparks did not testify during his weeklong trial.
The Justice Department said more than 1,300 people have been charged for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and that investigations are ongoing.
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