Military veteran convicted of obstruction in Capitol riot

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has convicted a military veteran of storming the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard trial testimony without a jury before convicting Virginia resident Hatchet Speed on Tuesday. Speed is a former U.S. Naval reservist. He spewed antisemitic rhetoric and spoke of a plan to “wipe out” Jewish people when the FBI recorded his conversations with an undercover agent more than a year after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. The judge is scheduled to sentence Speed on May 8. On Jan. 6, Speed drove to Washington, D.C, from his home in Vienna, Virginia. After attending the “Stop the Steal” rally, Speed joined the mob that attacked the Capitol.