Joseph Brody

Case Summary

Federal prosecutors allege that Joseph Brody is part of a group of five people that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 together, where they remained for more than 30 minutes and, at one point, entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's conference room. The group was allegedly among the first set of rioters to enter the Capitol. At one point, Brody allegedly entered the Senate Chamber, while other members of his group remained just outside. While there, prosecutors say Brody used his cell phone to take photos of Senate documents. After exiting the building, court documents state, the group remained on Capitol grounds. Video of the scene allegedly shows Brody "lifting a metal barricade and appearing to use it to obstruct or assault a law enforcement officer by pushing it up over a concrete station and against a law enforcement officer attempting to address the crowd of rioters with what appears to be fire-extinguisher retardant or chemical-irritant spray." Later, prosecutors say, the group joined a circle of rioters as some in the crowd destroyed equipment belonging to members of the press, and Brody participated in the destruction. Prosecutors say that the group is associated with the "America First" extremist group, which is led by the far-right Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and has promoted white nationalist propaganda.

Case History

Brody pleaded Guilty to the two charges. Sentenced on 7/19/2024 to 18 months of incarceration; 3 months of supervised release; $2,000 restitution; $200 special assessment; 50 hours of community service. Brody received a full pardon on January 20, 2025

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR
• Primary Documentation
  Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR

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