Former local substitute teacher found guilty of assaulting officers during US Capitol riot

WASHINGTON D.C. — A Glenshaw man was found guilty of several charges, including assaulting police officers, during the United States Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to the Department of Justice, 29-year-old Robert Morss illegally entered Capitol grounds and joined violence in the tunnel area of the Lower West Terrace. Officers fought with Morss and a group of rioters inside the tunnel until they cleared the area.

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Morss was arrested on June 11, 2021. He was identified through video and photos, some of which were taken near the National Monument before the Capitol was stormed.

Officials said Morss joined the crowd on the West Front of the Capitol around 2 p.m. and moved to the front of the line that was squaring off with law enforcement. He tried to steal an officer’s baton and removed a back rack fence, leaving no barrier between the crowd and the officers.

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Morss allegedly yelled to several officers during the confrontation, “Take a look around. We are going to take our Capitol back.”

Officials said Morss then joined a line of rioters that pushed police back and followed them up to the Lower West Terrance. At around 3:03 p.m., he participated in a heave-ho motion where rioters pushed again the line of police. During this time, Morss took a police officer’s riot shield and passed it to the crowd.

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According to the Department of Justice, Morss also climbed through a broken window and entered an office within the Capitol, took a chair and passed it through the broken window to the crowd outside.

Morss was found guilty on felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon and robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2023.

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