PA man among first into Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 convicted

🚨Ryan Samsal was one of the first arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection

🚨He was in a group that made the first breach of security around the Capitol

🚨Threw a bike rack towards Capitol officers, one suffered concussion

BRISTOL, Pa. — A Bucks County man who was part of a group that made the first breach of security around the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was found guilty of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges by a judge on Friday.

Ryan Samsel, 40, of Bristol was found guilty of throwing a bike rack being used as a crowd control barrier to assault a Capitol police officer, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia. He was convicted of additional felony charges of civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, namely a wooden plank.

Federal prosecutors say Samsel and four others arrived at the Capitol even before President Donald Trump was finished speaking at a rally nearby. Evidence during their trial showed their actions allowed other rioters to storm the Capitol grounds.

Officer suffers a concussion

Samsel helped push on a second barricade and then lift a bike rack throwing it into a line of Capitol officers. One officer was struck in the face while another fell backwards hitting her head on a metal handrail and then some stairs. She suffered a concussion as a result, according to the complaint in the case.

With the barricades down the officers were quickly overwhelmed by rioters headed towards the Capitol building.

Prosecutors said that as Samsel made his way towards the Capitol building he grabbed the riot shield of a law enforcement officer while rioters were attempting to overtake police. Samsel tore through a tarp in the scaffolding on the Capitol grounds, waved a flag in the officers’ faces, and took a 2x4 plank of wood from the scaffolding. He threw it at a group of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers as they struggled to maintain a police line.

Samsel is scheduled for sentencing on June 13.

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