Shelbyville man charged with attacking officer, carrying revolver in US Capitol insurrection
WASHINGTON (WISH) — A Shelbyville, Indiana, man is facing charges for entering the U.S. Capitol with a firearm during the Jan. 6 insurrection and assaulting a police officer, say court documents released Friday.
Mark A. Mazza, who is believed to be 56 years old, was charged Nov. 12 in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia.
Mazza broke through a police line near the Capitol steps as Congress worked to confirm the election of President Joe Biden, according to the court documents. Investigators reviews video footage where Mazza, carrying a baton in his hand, and other protestors pushed through a police security line.
Court documents say video shows Mazza holding a U.S. Capitol door open for other protestors and swinging the baton at officers. In that video, investigators say, Mazza yells, “This is our fucking house! We own this house! We want our house!”
During the interaction with protestors, Mazza assaulted a U.S. Capitol Police sergeant, the court documents say. The sergeant told investigators Mazza had picked up a revolver that fell to the ground during their encounter. Investigators later learned that the revolver had five live rounds, including two hollow-point rounds and three shotgun shells, both which can be fired from the firearm.
On Jan. 8, Mazza called the Shelbyville Police Department to report his revolver had been stolen. He claimed he lost the firearm on a Jan. 5 trip to the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati.
Mazza later told investigators that Antifa was behind the riot, and he reported the gun as stolen because Antifa might get it and kill people. Antifa has been described as a decentralized, leaderless movement of people who vigorously oppose fascism.
In the court documents, investigators shared photos from Mazza’s Twitter account showing him Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. Mazza told investigators in March that “I was there (at the Capitol) … so were a million other people.”
These are the charges filed against Mazza:
- Obstructing any official proceeding.
- Knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds; knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business; and engage in physical violence, all while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
- Obstructing law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.
- Carry, or have readily available, a firearm on Capitol grounds; utter loud, threatening or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct; and engage in acts of physical violence.
- Possess a pistol, firearm or ammunition outside their home or place of business, in D.C., without a license and registration.
