Judge lets MO man off on felony charge in Jan. 6 bench trial, convicts on lesser counts

A southwest Missouri man accused of storming the Capitol carrying a flag associated with the anti-government Three Percenters movement was found guilty Thursday of two misdemeanor counts but not guilty on one felony and two other misdemeanor counts.

Joseph Kerry Hicks, 50, of Willard, was convicted of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb, however, found that the government was unable to prove that Hicks tried to obstruct officers during a civil disorder, the sole felony charge. She said video evidence did not show beyond a reasonable doubt that Hicks physically intervened with officers.

“I don’t know that if there had been a visible line of officers at the entrance, he still would have tried to push in,” Cobb said.

She also said the government failed to prove that Hicks knew the U.S. Secret Service would be in the Capitol protecting former Vice President Mike Pence — a necessary element in determining whether he was guilty of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds or disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

The split verdict came after a bench trial June 3-4 before Cobb in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Hicks’ sentencing is scheduled for September 27.

Hicks is one of 37 Capitol riot defendants from Missouri and the 32nd to be convicted. Of those, 26 have been sentenced.

First charged on Aug. 21, 2023, Hicks was indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 15. Court documents show that he turned down multiple offers for a plea deal, opting instead for a jury trial, then deciding on a bench trial before a judge.

After the Capitol attack, Hicks had been labeled BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #92 by the FBI on its website seeking information about Jan. 6 suspects.

The FBI tracked Hicks down after a search warrant served on Google showed that a cellphone with a number associated with his Gmail account was in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Two FBI agents interviewed Hicks at his job in Springfield on June 14, 2021, the affidavit said. During the interview, Hicks admitted going into the building, calling it “an error in judgment,” the affidavit said.

Hicks told the agents he was let into the building by people at the door and that he did not assault any law enforcement officers or damage property.

U.S. Capitol surveillance footage showed Hicks entering the Rotunda of the Capitol about 2:41 p.m. on Jan. 6, the affidavit said, minutes after those doors had been breached.

Hicks was seen on the video walking around the Rotunda for several minutes, it said, unfurling and waving a flag and talking to and fist-bumping other rioters. About 2:46 p.m., he exited the south side of the Rotunda and entered Statuary Hall, where he remained for less than a minute before heading back to the Rotunda, the affidavit said.

Hicks also was seen on video obtained from another defendant carrying what looked like a black flag on a white flagpole.

“The flag appears to depict a skull with a stars-and-stripes pattern,” the affidavit said. “The flag states in white lettering at the bottom, ‘We Are Everywhere.’ As depicted in other images of Hicks from January 6, 2021, the flag also appears to contain the word ‘III%’ in one of the eye sockets of the skull.”

The III% symbol is associated with the Three Percenters movement, “which postures itself as citizens standing against a tyrannical government,” the affidavit said.

“At this time, the FBI has not identified Hicks as having ties to any Three Percenter group,” it said.

The Capitol security footage showed Hicks walking around the Rotunda with his flag for several minutes, the affidavit said. About 2:49 p.m., it said, Hicks left the Rotunda, then returned about a minute later, appearing to film the scene with his phone.

Security footage showed Hicks work his way toward the exit at about 2:54 p.m. But two minutes later, it said, he turned around and went back. He exited the Capitol around 2:58 p.m., but tried to re-enter about 3:29 p.m. as officers struggled to keep rioters out, the document said.

“Hicks is observed trying to re-enter the Capitol through the crowd, adding his body weight to other protestors in order to prevent the officers from expelling the rioters,” the affidavit said.

“Hicks appears to push for several seconds, until the officers successfully overcome and expel the rioters in the entrance. As the right half of the door is closed, Hicks — now on his own — then appears to back into the officers at the entrance, pushing against the officers with his back for less than two seconds. Hicks then retreats away from the Capitol and disappears from view.”

Hicks was the fourth Missouri Capitol riot defendant to request a bench trial, in which a judge hears and decides a case without a jury.

Lloyd Cruz, of Polo, was found guilty of two misdemeanors and sentenced in May 2023 to 45 days’ incarceration followed by one year of supervised release. Isaac Yoder, of Nevada, was found guilty of four misdemeanors and sentenced in August 2023 to 12 months in prison and one year of supervised release. Prison records show he is in a halfway house in Kansas City and scheduled for release on July 4.

And Matthew Loganbill was found guilty in November of one felony and four misdemeanors. His sentencing is on hold, awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected soon that could wipe out the felony charge — obstruction of an official proceeding — in his case.