Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, said he went viral after he was fired from his job as an exterminator in March 2020 and fell into Trump’s control as he bought conspiracy theories and “came down from the rabbit hole in the internet. “ At a U.S. District Court hearing in Washington, D.C., Thompson testified that the allegation that the election had been stolen seemed credible to him because it came from the president. His defense team was the first to claim that Trump and those associated with him were responsible for the mob’s actions that day. “It seems that everyone attacked him (Trump). “I needed someone to defend me and I was trying to do that,” Thompson said. In response to the prosecution, Thompson admitted that he ignored signs that he should not be in the Capitol – broken glasses, alarms, chemical irritants in the air – and said he stole the grill to prevent others from using it as a weapon. He also said he saw fierce fighting between police and rioters outside the building and later ran away from police. He said he realized weeks later that what he had done was wrong and now he is ashamed of his actions. The Thompson jury trial is the third of hundreds of riots in the Capitol. The first two ended with jurors convicting both defendants on all charges. Thompson’s defense team was the first to claim that Trump and those associated with him were responsible for the mob’s actions that day. “If the president almost orders you to do something, I felt compelled to do it,” Thompson said. Thompson’s lawyer called for Trump and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to be called as witnesses, but U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton denied the request. Jurors on Wednesday began listening to recordings of speeches Trump and Giuliani delivered at a rally before the uprising. They were expected to finish listening to the recordings on Thursday morning and start discussions later in the day. Thompson’s wife, Sarah Thompson, testified that she voted for Democrat Joe Biden, as well as for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She said her husband’s views were more moderate then, but changed during Trump’s years as he began to face conspiracy theories. He said he did not share his views, but helped arrange his trip to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House because he had the right to protest and she liked having a quiet home. Much of the prosecution case was based on the testimony of several Capitol police officers who put Thompson on the spot, wearing a bulletproof vest he said he found and holding a hanger he took from the Senate’s office. More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes resulting from the January 6, 2021 uprising. More than 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Thompson is the fifth person to be tried on riot charges. A court on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer, Thomas Robertson, of invading the Capitol with another off-duty officer to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 election victory. Last month, a court sentenced him from Texas, Guy Refit, for invading the Capitol with a pistol with a holster. A judge hearing a testimony without a jury has ruled against two other defendants in the Capitol riots in separate trials. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden acquitted one of the charges and partially acquitted the other. Thompson is charged with six counts: obstructing a joint congressional vote to certify the Electoral College vote, stealing government property, entering or staying in a restricted building or premises, disorderly conduct or harassment in a restricted building or premises, or a Capitol building and parade, demonstration or picket in a Capitol building. One of the co-accused, Robert Lyon, 27, pleaded guilty in March to stealing state property and disorderly conduct. Both charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in prison. Walton is scheduled to sentence Lyon on June 3.
