Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 45
- Location
- Mathiston, Mississippi
- Charges
- Civil Disorder (2 counts); Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers (2 counts); Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers using a Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Thomas Harlen Smith has been indicted on 10 federal counts relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, according to court documents. Smith had worked as a foreman at the Oktibbeha County road department in Mississippi, according to local media. In March of 2021, Smith was arrested on embezzlement charges alleging he stole gas from the road department in summer 2019, when he was an employee. According to The Dispatch, a local newspaper, Smith was terminated in August 2019. He later sued the county for wrongful termination, claiming it was retaliation for his being a whistleblower. Both cases are pending. According to HuffPost, Smith was identified alongside his cousin by the group operating under the name Sedition Hunters, because of the flag Smith carried – an old Mississippi flag that featured the Confederate battle flag. According to the FBI, Smith is charged with assaulting law enforcement. “We pretty much got our a**** kicked by the cops then we kick the cops a**** … Patriots stood together and battled the tyrannical cops throughout the entire afternoon and as I sit here now at the footsteps of the Capitol they’re still shooting off flashbangs pepper spray and innocent people,” he wrote on Facebook according to the HuffPost.
Case History
Smith pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. On 5/5/2023, a jury found him Guilty on all charges. Sentenced on 10/16/2023 to 108 months incarceration; 36 months of supervised release; Special Assessment of $920; Fine of $37,085; 200 hours of community service. Smith 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 - 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.