First person to breach U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 found guilty, faces June sentencing

March 4 (UPI) -- The Kentucky man who was the first known person to breach the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was found guilty Monday by a Washington, D.C., court.

Michael Sparks, of Elizabethtown, was found guilty of multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses related to his conduct at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and is one of over 1,313 individuals also charged with activities relating to that day.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly is expected to hand Sparks an official sentence on July 9, according to a release by the Justice Department.

The violent and deadly breach on the Capitol building -- which left five people dead and over 140 injured police officers -- notably disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count and certify the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

A federal jury convicted Sparks, 46, of felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.

According to official records, Sparks was first arrested on Jan. 19, 2021, and was formally indicted days later on Feb. 5 and had a superseding indictment filed on Nov. 10, 2021.

The FBI's Louisville and Washington Field Offices investigated Sparks' case where he was also convicted of several other misdemeanor offenses including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

Evidence that was presented during the trial show Sparks as the very first rioter to enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. He was seen entering through a window and then jumping down onto the floor at around 2:13 p.m. that day despite hearing screams of "don't go in."

After entering the building, Sparks was seen following a group of other men who chased a Capitol Police officer up a flight of stairs and proceeded to harass the officer. Other Capitol Police officers ordered the group to leave, which they did not after Sparks "grew increasingly agitated" and yelled at the officers, "This is our America! This is our America!"