A year after riot, Keller man who raised beer at Capitol pleads guilty to misdemeanor
A Keller man who intruded in the U.S. Capitol during a riot last year has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime in the case.
Thomas Conover, 53, said during a hearing via video on Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that he was guilty of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Conover attended a Jan. 6, 2021 rally near the White House, at which former President Donald Trump spoke, before he marched to the Capitol, where legislators were considering certifying the Electoral College vote. Conover walked to the east rotunda door.
He entered the Capitol at 2:56 p.m. and stayed for 22 minutes. Inside, Conover recorded videos and posed for photos with a can of beer, according to a document prepared the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia that Conover indicated is accurate.
“This is it boys and girls. This is the Capitol. Apparently there’s some crazy [expletive] going on in the Senate today and the certification. They’ve had enough,” Conover said in a video. “Well here we are. Ha ha ha ha. I pray to God that nobody does any damage to the stuff in here ‘cause I’m not down with that. But I am kind of kind of proud of the people that stood up and said ‘you know what? Enough.’ You don’t see people spraypainting [expletive] or burning [expletive] down. It’s really kind of cool. I’m glad I came.”
While on the Capitol steps, Conover recorded a video of himself in which he raised a can of beer.
“I don’t always storm the Capitol of the United States of America, but when I do, I prefer Coors Light,” he said.
Conover admitted in the document that at the time he entered the Capitol, he knew that he did not have permission and that while inside, he paraded, demonstrated or picketed.
Conover is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8. The maximum prison term for the crime to which he pleaded guilty is six months.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to seek the dismissal of three other crimes with which it charged Conovoer, according to a plea agreement: Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 5:52 PM.
