A man from central Illinois pleaded guilty Friday to a felony for assaulting a law enforcement officer and a member of the news media during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, prosecutors said.
Shane Jason Woods, 44, of Auburn, south of Springfield, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement and a related federal charge, prosecutors said.
Court documents say Woods was illegally among people on the Capitol grounds and joined a mob in the Lower West Terrace area. Someone in the crowd sprayed a Capitol police officer with a chemical irritant and fled, and when the officer chased that person, Woods dropped his shoulder and rammed into her, causing her to fall off her feet and crash into a downed bicycle barricade, prosecutors said. .
Later that day, Woods gathered with other rioters in the media staging area near the Capitol and joined others in damaging media equipment, prosecutors say. When a member of the media tried to run away to protect himself and his camera, Woods ran up to him and tackled him, knocking him to the ground and letting him drop the camera, prosecutors said.
Woods was arrested in Springfield on June 24, 2021.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2023. The charge of assault, resistance or obstruction of a law enforcement officer carries a statutory maximum of eight years in prison. The federal assault charge carries a legal maximum of one year. Both charges also carry possible financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine an eventual penalty after considering U.S. sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
Woods is one of more than 30 Illinois residents indicted in the Capitol riots.