Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 25
- Location
- Pensacola, Florida
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers and Aiding and Abetting; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Civil Disorder; 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; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Federal prosecutors say Tristan Stevens, a computer engineering student at the University of West Florida, clashed with police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In video surveillance footage, Stevens can be seen among a crowd of rioters using police shields and police riot batons to combat police officers, according to a criminal complaint. At one point, he allegedly grabbed one of the shields that was being passed around and pushed his way to the front of the line of rioters, where he tried to take a baton from an officer.
Case History
Stevens pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. A Bench Trial was held 8/29/2022-9/7/2022. On 9/13/2022 Stevens was found guilty on nine charges - five felony charges and four misdemeanor charges. Not Guilty of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding. Sentenced 3/10/2023 to 5 years incarceration; 2 years supervised release; Special Assessment of $570; Restitution of $2,000. Stevens 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.