A Middle Georgia man caught on camera swinging a metal baton at police officers during some of the most brutal fighting in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot was found guilty this week in Washington of assaulting police and other charges.
Following a two-day trial, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton found Michael Bradley, 50, of Forsyth guilty of civil disorder, assaulting police with a dangerous weapon and several misdemeanor charges. The most serious charge of assault carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years.
According to an FBI affidavit filed with the court, Bradley entered the Capitol grounds between 4 and 4:30 p.m. on the day of the riot and made his way to an entry tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace where dozens of rioters were stacked up fighting with police who were blocking the entrance. Investigators say that Bradley raised his baton to strike at police but was forced back by chemical spray. He returned to the fight a minute later, and photos show the man identified as Bradley raising his baton to strike again. According to the FBI affidavit, Bradley struck twice at police with the baton, footage of which was captured by surveillance cameras.
Credit: U.S. Department of Justice
Credit: U.S. Department of Justice
Bradley left the tunnel a few minutes later and was not arrested until this past September. Before Bradley’s arrest, the FBI had been searching since the early days of the Jan. 6 investigation for a man dubbed “#CommanderCamo” because he wore a camouflaged hat and jacket during the riot. The man’s identity was unknown until two years after the riot when the FBI received an anonymous online tip from someone saying they had overheard two men bragging about being there.
The tipster identified Bradley as one of the men, according to the FBI affidavit. The other man, whom the tipster also named, was listed only as “Witness 1″ and was Bradley’s friend and neighbor.
Investigators searched the friend’s Facebook account and found a Jan. 5, 2021, post showing the two men with the caption “D.C. bound. Over the hill soldiers.” In the photo, Bradley is wearing a camouflage ball cap similar to the one in the photos from the riot.
Many Capitol riot defendants who have pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial have been given sentences far below the maximum set by statute, usually because they did not have a criminal history prior to the riot. That’s not the case for Bradley.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Bradley has been in prison four times dating to 1996 with charges ranging from DUI and forgery to a 2002 conviction for trafficking methamphetamine for which he received a 15-year sentence. He was released from prison on that charge in 2012, DOC records say.
So far, 33 people with Georgia ties have been arrested and charged as part of the massive, long-running Jan. 6 investigation. Of those, 25 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial, although several Georgia defendants have appealed those convictions.
About the Author
