A Santa Clara man was arrested Jan. 29 on multiple charges stemming from his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The actions of Patrick Bournes, 59, “and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.” according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C

The next day, Andrew Alan Hernandez, 45, of Riverside was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the District of Columbia for aiding and abetting in the obstruction of an official proceeding. Hernandez pleaded guilty Sept. 21. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered 36 months of supervised release and $2,000 restitution.

Allen Bournes, is charged with the felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, and the misdemeanor offenses of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and impeding passage through the capitol grounds or buildings.

Terror in ‘the tunnel’

Prosecutors said Bournes “was among a mob that illegally engaged in a physical confrontation with law enforcement officers near an entrance to the U.S. Capitol on the Lower West Terrace known as ‘the tunnel,’ the location of one of the most prolonged and dangerous assaults on police on Jan. 6, 2021.”

“For over two and a half hours, law enforcement defended the tunnel against rioters who pushed against them, struck them, stole their riot shields, sprayed them with chemical irritants, and otherwise fought against them to gain access to the U.S. Capitol,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. “The defendant participated in the siege against law enforcement at the tunnel including by pushing against officers and assisting other rioters to push against the officers. Bournes entered the tunnel at approximately 3:03pm and moved through the crowd toward the police line.

“Bournes pushed his way to the front of the police line and physically pressed up against police officers. At one-point Bournes was pushed back from the police line and assisted other individuals in the tunnel in handing what appears to be a police shield through the crowd and out of the tunnel.  Even as others were moving out of the tunnel, Bournes continued to stay in the tunnel and pressed forward towards the police line.”
According to prosecutors, Bournes and others pushed against the police line, rocking back and forth, then holding police shields, pressed against law enforcement officers. Bournes left the tunnel at approximately 3:11pm, they said.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and investigated by the FBI’s Washington, and San Francisco field offices.

In two years, 950 arrests

In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Here is a summary of the investigation results:

Criminal charges:

• More than 284 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 99 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
  • Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted January 6 at the Capitol, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
• Approximately 11 individuals have been arrested on a series of charges that relate to assaulting a member of the media, or destroying their equipment, on January 6.
• Approximately 860 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 91 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
• Approximately 59 defendants have been charged with destruction of government property, and approximately 36 defendants have been charged with theft of government property.
• More than 295 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
• Approximately 50 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, either: (a) conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, (b) conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, (c) conspiracy to injure an officer, (d) seditious conspiracy, or some combination of the four.

Pleas:

• Approximately 484 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, many of whom faced or will face incarceration at sentencing.
  • Approximately 119 have pleaded guilty to felonies. Another 364 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
  • A total of 52 of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded to federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers. An additional 22 individuals have pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Of these 74 defendants, 41 have now been sentenced to prison terms of up to 90 months.
  • Four of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded guilty to the federal charge of seditious conspiracy.

Trials:

• 40 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials, including 3 who were found guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Another 10 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts. 16 of these 50 defendants were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, a felony, including one who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Sentencings:

• Approximately 351 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on January 6. Approximately 192 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Approximately 87 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention, including approximately 14 who also were sentenced to a period of incarceration