US Marshals had to clear a courtroom and rush the judge out after a Capitol rioter started brawling with security trying to handcuff him: reports
FBI
- US marshals cleared a courtroom after a Capitol rioter started a brawl with federal agents, reports say.
- Vitali GossJankowski let out "guttural screams" while resisting agents, CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reported.
- GossJankowski was ordered to go to jail while awaiting sentencing earlier this month.
A convicted Capitol rioter got into a fight with federal agents and security officials at a court appearance on Monday, prompting US marshals to clear the courtroom and rush the judge out, according to reporters who were in the courtroom.
Vitali GossJankowski, 34, was convicted of multiple felonies in March in connection to his actions during the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
But earlier this month, the feds asked a judge to revoke GossJankowski's release and order him to be placed in jail while awaiting sentencing. Federal officials accused GossJankowski of sending several threatening messages to a law enforcement officer who testified against him.
US District Judge Paul Friedman scheduled a hearing on the matter on Monday and ordered him to jail. But things devolved when GossJankowski refused to surrender to agents and resisted their efforts to handcuff him, CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reported.
"Judge has ordered Jan 6 defendant Vitali GossJankowski jailed immediately," CBS News' Scott MacFarlane wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. "And GossJankowski begins resisting federal agents. Table is nearly toppled. He's resisting several agents."
US marshals quickly ordered the courtroom to be cleared as GossJankowski made "guttural screams" while trying to fight off the agents, MacFarlane wrote.
"A computer plunges off defense table in the scrum. Other agents from elsewhere in courthouse run into Judge Friedman's courtroom to corral GossJankowski, who is huge and strong," he added. "Judge has already exited."
MacFarlane reported that it ultimately took seven or eight agents to detain GossJankowski.
WUSA's Jordan Fischer also wrote about the incident on X, saying that "more than half a dozen U.S. Marshals, FBI agents and CSOs just had to forcibly arrest" GossJankowski.
A courtroom deputy confirmed to Insider that there was a disturbance in the building at the time of GossJankowski's hearing. A lawyer for GossJankowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment.