Brooklyn man charged for attacking police during Jan. 6 attempted coup in D.C.

February 16, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Mitchell Bosch has been accused of helping rioters during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He is allegedly seen in videos fighting with police officers, pushing up directly against them and assisting other insurrectionists.
Photos courtesy of the EDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office

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Following the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on U.S. democracy, Mitchell Bosch, a 44-year-old from Brooklyn, has been arrested on charges that include assaulting law enforcement officers during the violent attack on the Capitol. The siege aimed to disrupt the certification of the 2020 Presidential election results, challenging the pillars of American democracy.

Facing a slew of charges in the District of Columbia, Bosch is accused of felony civil disorder and impeding officers, alongside misdemeanors for his alleged intrusion into restricted areas and violent behavior within the Capitol grounds. His arrest by the FBI underscores the ongoing legal repercussions for those involved in the attack.

In March 2023, the FBI was tipped off about someone resembling Mitchell Bosch seen in publicly available photos and videos from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Court documents reveal Bosch’s alleged active participation, with video evidence placing him at the heart of the chaos, where he is seen opposing police efforts to secure the Capitol. Allegations suggest Bosch pushed against officers, encouraged rioter resistance, and repeatedly engaged in confrontations, contributing to the tumultuous scenes that unfolded.

The charges suggest that Bosch played an active role in the confrontations with police officers, pushing against police lines, encouraging other rioters, and remaining in restricted areas of the Capitol grounds. The affidavit indicates that evidence supporting these accusations includes video footage, social media posts and witness identification, painting a picture of Bosch’s alleged involvement in the day’s violent events.

Bosch is accused of attempting to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers engaged in their official duties during a civil disorder, and his actions are said to have directly affected the conduct of a federally protected function, namely the joint session of Congress.

Following the 2020 United States presidential election, where Democrat Joe Biden defeated incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, Trump and other Republicans engaged in efforts to overturn the election results. Trump falsely claimed widespread voter fraud and prematurely declared victory as the votes were still being counted.

Despite the lack of factual foundation or valid legal arguments, Trump’s legal team filed numerous lawsuits aiming to challenge the election results, including two that reached the Supreme Court. These legal challenges were uniformly dismissed by the courts due to insufficient evidence or lack of legal standing.

Another photo shows Mitchell Bosch, a 44-year-old from Brooklyn, directly assaulting a police officer during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In addition to legal avenues, Trump attempted to influence Republican officials and lawmakers to intervene in the electoral process by suggesting they replace Biden electors with those pledged to Trump or manufacture evidence of fraud. Trump also explored the possibility of invoking martial law and appointing a special counsel to investigate non-existent fraud, neither of which materialized. He pressured Vice President Mike Pence to alter the election results, which was beyond Pence’s constitutional powers.

These attempts to subvert the democratic process have been characterized by scholars and journalists as an attempted self-coup by Trump, often referred to as the “big lie.” In July 2023, Trump was notified of his official target status in the Smith special counsel investigation, and Trump attorney Sidney Powell later admitted guilt in a conspiracy to interfere with the electoral process.