Storming of the US Capitol: Samuel Lazar was secretly convicted – but for what?

Riot on January 6, 2021
One of the attackers on the US Capitol was secretly convicted – but no one will say why

Following the attack on the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, hundreds of rioters were charged, convicted and sentenced. Samuel Lazar was also in prison for his involvement in the storming of the parliament building. But in contrast to the other convicts, the authorities are keeping his case a big secret, as the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.

“There is no public record of any conviction.”

According to the AP, Lazar was arrested in July 2021 on allegations that he came to the Capitol in riot gear and protective goggles and used a chemical spray against officers who were desperately trying to repel the mob. A federal court in Washington later sentenced him to 30 months in prison, according to prison officials. He was released from prison custody this week after serving a sentence for assaulting or resisting a federal officer.

On site

Storming of the Capitol
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August 2, 2022

“But there is no public record of a conviction or sentence in Lazar’s court file,” the news agency writes. Questions about the case of the 37-year-old man from the US state of Pennsylvania have been circulating for months, but details have not yet been disclosed. The Justice Department would not say why the case remained sealed and Lazar’s lawyers did not respond to several requests. In May, the responsible judge, Amy Berman Jackson, also rejected a request from several media outlets, including the AP, to release any sealed files after a prosecutor and a defense attorney argued against it.

The case raises concerns about transparency in the extensive investigation into the events on January 6th, the news agency reports. Court hearings and recordings – including sentencing hearings and a possible confession agreement – would have to be open to the public and the press in the United States unless there is a compelling reason for secrecy. Although secret hearings are not unusual, the files are often released before the verdict is announced.

George Washington University criminal justice professor Randall Eliason, who served as a federal prosecutor for 12 years, told the Associated Press that he could not recall a case during his tenure at the Justice Department in which a hearing and verdict were kept under wraps. It is possible that in the Lazar case, “there are either security concerns regarding him personally or, more likely, that he is cooperating in some way that the people he is cooperating against are not supposed to know about.”

Judgments against other Capitol stormers were public

But many other people charged with storming the Capitol have reached cooperation agreements with the government and their cases have not been settled in secret, AP reports. Defendants who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors often had their sentencing hearings postponed until they completed their cooperation. “The fact that he was also convicted, went to prison and is already out again is simply unusual,” said Eliason, commenting on the ongoing secrecy of the files.

Lazar came to the Capitol on January 6th with a megaphone, ski goggles, a combat vest with a radio and camouflage face paint. Videos of the storming of the Capitol showed the 37-year-old approaching the police lines outside the building and spraying an orange chemical irritant toward the officers, AP reported, citing an FBI official’s testimony. The attacker used his megaphone to insult the police, calling them tyrants and shouting: “Let’s get their weapons!” Another video shows Lazar saying: “There is a time for peace and a time for war.”

But there may still be light in the darkness surrounding the Lazar case. Judge Jackson said in May that the media could renew its request to release court records. Their attorneys have until September 29th to “file an updated status report setting out their position or positions on this matter.”

Sources: Associated Press

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