Dominic Pezzola — insurrectionist firebrand or misguided misfit?
A year after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Pezzola, a Marine veteran from Rochester, remains jailed, accused by federal prosecutors of being one of the more dangerous individuals to have ransacked the Capitol and endangered the lives of lawmakers and responding police.
Prosecutors allege that Pezzola smashed through a Capitol window with a police shield, freeing the mob to storm the building. His lawyers are challenging that allegation.
And, while Pezzola's case has its own singular evidentiary questions — a major point of contention is whether he grabbed the riot shield from a U.S. Capitol police officer — the courtroom fight mirrors many of the cases now ongoing against alleged insurrectionists.
More than 700 men and women have been criminally charged with crimes arising from the Jan. 6 riot. Three of those cases involve men from Monroe County, including Pezzola.
In many of those cases, as with Pezzola's, defense lawyers contend that the accused got caught up in the maelstrom, but was not a leader nor a vital participant.
Other suspects:One year later: Where charges stand against 13 Capitol riot suspects from Hudson Valley
Details of escape:Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection a year later: Congress members reveal details of their escape
"How many of them were just trying to figure out what even happened on that day because it got completely out of control?" said Steven Metcalf, one of Pezzola's lawyers....
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