Dominic Pezzola

Case Summary

According to charging documents, Dominic Pezzola, of Rochester, N.Y., ripped away a Capitol Police officer’s riot shield and used it to smash a window at the U.S. Capitol. A viral video appears to show him doing so. The indictment against him alleges that he is a member of the Proud Boys and that he engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct, influence, impede and interfere with law enforcement officials trying to protect the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Court documents say that a video posted to social media appears to show Pezzola smoking a cigar in the Capitol building, and in it, he says, “I knew we could take this mother****** over [if we] just tried hard enough.” A witness came forward, according to court documents, and told authorities that Pezzola is known as “Spaz” and that they recognized him as the person who used the shield to break the window. The witness said other members of his group talked about things they had done that day, and they said that anyone they got their hands on they would have killed, including Nancy Pelosi. The witness also allegedly told the FBI that they said they would have killed Vice President Pence if given the chance. The witness also told the FBI, according to the court documents, that the group said they would be returning for the presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, and they plan to kill every single “m-fer” they can. In a later interview, the witness said the group had no definitive date for a return but had said they would be back. A military spokesperson confirmed Pezzola served in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1998 to 2005.

Case History

Pezzola pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Jury selection began 12/19/2022. The jury found Pezzola Guilty on seven charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Conspiracy to Prevent an Officer from Discharging any Duties; Civil Disorder; Destruction of Government Property (2 counts); Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers (1 count); Robbery of Personal Property of the United States. Not Guilty on one charge: Seditious Conspiracy. No verdict on two charges: Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers. Sentenced on 9/1/2023 to 10 years incarceration; 36 months supervised release; $700 special assessment. A proclamation commutes the sentence to time served as of January 20, 2025

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR
• Primary Documentation
  Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
• Supporting Reporting
  NPR video evidence pageNPR

Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.