Capitol rioter who struck officer with Confederate flag pleads guilty

A Maryland man who struck an officer with a Confederate flag at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot has pleaded guilty, according to the Department of Justice.

In a Tuesday release, the Justice Department said David Blair, 27, entered a guilty plea in the District of Columbia to interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of civil disorder, a felony charge. 

During the assault on the Capitol, authorities said Blair yelled at a police officer who pushed him back into the crowd away from the Capitol, “What’s up motherf—–, what’s up, what’s up bitch?” He then thrust the flag, which was attached to a lacrosse stick, toward the officer’s chest, striking him, according to a complaint.

Police later detained Blair and found a knife on him, which he explained he had in his possession “cause I was worried about Antifa and other people trying to jump me.”

Blair’s attorney, Samuel Bogash, said his client now “feels like an idiot.”

“He was sitting in the jail cell along with everybody else, and wondering what the hell am I doing here. He really feels like he was sold a bill of goods. He’s one of these guys who’s been watching Fox and Newsmax and OANN and doing his own research on the internet; he was beginning to buy into that stuff,” Bogash told The Baltimore Sun.

Blair was arrested on Feb. 17, 2021, in Washington, D.C., and is set to be sentenced on July 13. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 200 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with the deadly attack on the Capitol, the Justice Department announced earlier this month.