WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 45 months in prison today for assaulting law enforcement, destroying government property, and other charges related to his conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates to 45 months in prison,three months of supervised release,and ordered to pay $4,729 in restitution.Judge Bates found Bozell guilty of 10 charges, including four felonies, on Sept. 8, 2023, following a bench trial.
According to evidencepresented duringthe trial and court documents, Bozell traveled to Washington, D.C., fromPalmyra, Pennsylvania, onJan. 5, 2021.On January 6th, Bozell attended the former president's "Stop the Steal"rally andlatermarched with the crowd towards the U.S. Capitol. Bozell entered Capitol grounds shortly before 2:00 p.m., made his way past the barriers, and approached the Northwest Stairs, where he watched as rioters confronted officers on the landing of the staircase. Bozell watched as another rioter rushed at the officers while nearby rioters cut through the tarp on the construction scaffolding.
As rioters continued to assault officers, Bozell used a bike rack barrier as a ladder to climb part way up thebalustradeand supply the violent rioters on the stairs with objects, including a long white pole. Around 1:48 p.m., at the base of the Northwest Stairs near the entrance of the scaffolding, rioters, Bozell included, surged forward and overran a police line. About halfway up the stairs, the rioterswere slowed downby a construction wall and another line of officers underneath the scaffolding. As rioters chanted, Bozell climbed around the wall and joined the rioters as they overran the line of officers. The officers retreated up the stairs to the landing as the mob moved forward.
Once the mob reached thelanding of the staircase, they were again stopped, this time by a bike rack wall, a line of officers, and the large white tarp that wrapped the construction scaffolding.Asofficers struggled to maintain control of the bike racks, Bozell ripped through the tarp.Bozell then crawled through the entry pointthathe ripped, making itone stepcloser to the Capitol building.As Bozell emerged on the landing, one officer immediately moved to push Bozell back, and Bozell aggressively yelled at the officer. Bozellthenleaned his body over thebalustradeand waved for other rioters to ascend the stairs. He then faced an officer and yelled in the officer's face.
At about 2:09 p.m., Bozell and a crowd of rioters faced off with a police line on the staircase.One rioter—standing directly next to Bozell—coordinated the crowd by yelling, "ARE YOU READY TO PUSH?!LET'S PUSH! . . . PUSH!"With that, the rioters, Bozell included, forcefully barreled through the police line, making physical contact with the officers. Officers retreated up the staircase to avoidbeing trampled. At the top of thestaircase, police formed another line behind bike racks. However, with Bozell at the front of the mob, the rioters forcefully pushed the bike racks aside, sprayed the officers with chemical irritants, and used their momentumto quickly overrun this police line.
At approximately 2:12 p.m., the mob pushed over the barricades and surged forward toward the Capitol building. After having joined rioters in overrunning four lines of police officers, Bozell stepped past the toppled bike racks and darted towards the Senate Wing Door. Along the way, Bozell picked up a heavy metal object from the ground. Bozell rushed to the Senate Wing Door, making him one of the first rioters to reach the Capitol building. He used the heavy metal object and immediately started bashing the windowpane, striking it at least ten times and shattering the glass. Bozell moved acouple offeet over to the large window directly north of the Senate Wing Door. He bashed that window at least eleven times until the glass shattered and littered the floor.
At about 2:15 p.m., Bozell, with scores of other rioters, clambered through the window that he helped break. Bozell and other rioters marched towards the Senate Wing as nearby Senate staffers hurried away from the mob. A USCP officerrespondedto the breach. The mob, Bozell included, chased the officer up a staircase. The responding officer led the rioters into the Ohio Clock Corridor, where a line of other officers awaited. Bozell separated from the group,made his waydown a hall, and entered a meeting room for Senators.
Around that time, two USCP Officers checking rooms for staffers in hiding discovered Bozell in the room. The officers escorted Bozell out, and he rejoined the rioters in the Ohio Clock Corridor. He walked deeper into the Capitol building and eventuallymade his wayto the Office of the Speaker of the Senate, Nancy Pelosi. As he exited the Speaker's office, Bozell appeared to be carrying somethingin his hand. He proceeded to the Rotunda doors, where he joined rioters in forcing the doors open, allowing another flood of rioters into the building.
Soon after, Bozellwas seenon the balcony of the U.S. Senate ChamberHere,as the mob chanted, "Treason! Treason!"Bozell unpacked a bag that he found filled with emergency supplies. While still in the Senate Gallery, he climbed over railings and reached a pair of CSPAN cameras. Bozell pointed one camera at the ground,obstructingits recording ability, just as rioters made it to the Senate Floor. Bozell made it to the Senate floor shortlyafter thatand later left the Capitol Building at 3:07p.m.,havingspent almost an hour inside.
The FBI arrested Bozell on Feb. 21, 2021, in Palmyra.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania provided valuable assistance.
This casewas investigatedby the FBI's Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices.Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 40 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 500 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
