Maine Man Pleads Guilty For His Role in the U.S. Capitol Breach

A Maine man pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon during the January 6, 2021, breach of the U. S. Capitol.

When Will He Be Sentenced?

Christopher Maurer, 45, formerly of Biddeford, was in court this week and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. He will be sentenced in November.

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What Was Maurer's Role in the Capitol Breach?

The charges stemmed from the Breach of the Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine, court documents state that Maurer was among a crowd of rioters on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building near an area known as the tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against the police that day. Maurer is said to have made his way to the front of the police line, where he confronted a group of police officers preventing further access into the building.

While he was inside the tunnel. Maurer grabbed a police officer's riot shield and tried to rip it away. He also attempted to use his body to push against officers in the Tunnel, exiting after about eight minutes.

When a 'Heave-ho' push was started against the police line, Maurer re-entered the Tunnel entrance and added his body weight, force and momentum to the effort. He grabbed onto a canister of a chemical irritant held by another rioter, threw a stick-like object into the Tunnel at the line of officers, and ended up striking one officer in the helmet after the stick ricocheted off the wall. Officials say he also whipped at the officers with a cellphone cord.

How Many Mainers Have Been Arrested For This Incident?

Since the Breach, more than 1,470 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the incident, including more than 530 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony. At least 13 people from Maine have been charged, to date, and most  have been sentenced. Maurer will receive his sentence in November.