Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 39
- Location
- Polo , Missouri
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
On Jan. 3, 2021, Lloyd Casimiro Cruz Jr. drove with friends to Washington, D.C., to attend then-President Trump's rally three days later, according to court documents. On Jan. 6, Cruz watched Trump’s speech and then marched with the crowd to the U.S. Capitol, court documents indicate. He allegedly told the FBI, who interviewed him several months later, that he observed Capitol personnel remove the lower barriers so that people could walk closer to the building. He also allegedly told agents that he saw people dressed in “dark clothing,” who he assumed were antifa, pushing and removing barriers on the upper level of the Capitol. (There is no evidence that antifa played any major role in the attack on the Capitol.) Cruz told investigators that he then went to get food from a food truck and saw gas and rubber bullets being deployed on people at the upper barriers. According to court documents, Cruz's further stated that he went back onto the Capitol grounds to help anyone who might be injured, but did not enter the building. In June, the FBI interviewed Cruz voluntarily again. He allegedly stated that he recorded footage on his GoPro camera and gave the content to the FBI. The contents of the camera, in addition to security camera footage, allegedly show Cruz inside the building. The FBI interviewed Cruz three additional times and during the final interview he did confirm he was inside the building, court documents indicate.
Case History
Cruz pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. On 1/13/2023, he was found Guilty on both counts in a stipulated Bench trial. Sentenced on 5/2/2023 to 45 days of incarceration; 1 year of Supervised Release; Special Assessment of $35; Restitution of $500. Cruz 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.