Substitute Teacher, Others Charged For Role In Capitol Riot (2024)

Three men were arrested and charged on Friday for their connection with the January 6 Capitol riots, including Robert Morss, a Pennsylvania substitute teacher that was seen trying to rip away a police officer's baton during the riots.

"Robert Morss of Glenshaw, PA was arrested this morning by @FBIPittsburgh on federal charges relating to criminal acts at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. His initial appearance is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in US District Court in Western PA," the Western District of Pennsylvania State Attorney's office wrote in a tweet on Friday.

According to an affidavit released by the D.C. District Attorney's Office, Morss was identified by authorities in several images captured during the Capitol riots. The affidavit states that Morss was seen on videos attempting to breach police lines numerous times and at one point he tried to grab an officer's baton. Morss also attempted to take the officer's protective helmet visor off, according to the affidavit.

"At approximately 2:26 p.m., Morss can again be seen on BWC [body worn camera] footage. While wearing a neck gaiter covering his mouth, it appeared as though Morss was addressing the officers and can be heard saying, 'You guys are betraying us. You get paid enough to betray your people?' Morss then points and says, 'look they are coming in over there,'" the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, at around 2:57 p.m. local time on January 6, Morss was seen on surveillance footage inside a tunnel that leads to the entrance of the Capitol, but eventually made his way inside the building through a broken window.

Morss was identified by witnesses who informed the FBI that he was a graduate of Penn State. The affidavit states that Morss was charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers; civil disorder; robbery of personal property of the United States; and obstruction of an official proceeding.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Morss is a substitute teacher in Pittsburgh's Shaler Area School District.

In addition to Morss, two other men were arrested and charged on Friday by Minneapolis FBI special agents. The two men were identified by the Minnesota District Attorney's Office as 42-year-old Brian Mock and 29-year-old Daniel Johnson.

The Minnesota District Attorney's office said in a tweet that Mock is charged in Washington D.C. with assaulting a federal officer; unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds; and acts of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

In another tweet, the state attorney's office stated that Johnson is also charged in Washington, D.C. with unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds; violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

"According to court documents, Mock was on the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, where he was seen on body-worn camera (BWC) footage repeatedly assaulting multiple law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the building from rioters," the D.C. District Attorney's Office said in a press release.

An affidavit against Mock, released by the D.C. District Attorney's Office, states that Mock "picked up multiple USCP riot shields and passed them back to other members of the violent riot crowd," after a crowd of rioters "continued to advance and assault other officers."

A separate affidavit against Johnson, released by the D.C. District Attorney's Office, says that he published several social media posts stating that he was at the Capitol on January 6 and he can be seen in numerous surveillance photos included in the affidavit.

The affidavit against Johnson also states that the FBI received a tip from a witness that included a Facebook comment written by Johnson that said, "I was one of the first ones inside the capitol building."

Newsweek was directed to the two tweets posted by the Minnesota District Attorney's office after reaching out for comment.