Confederate flag-toting man, son convicted in Capitol riot

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday convicted a Confederate flagtoting man and his son of charges that they stormed the U.S. Capitol together during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to obstruct Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden delivered the verdict from the bench after hearing two days of testimony without a jury for the trial of Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter.

Judge McFadden convicted both Delaware men of a felony count: obstruction of an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College that day.

The judge also convicted the Seefrieds of misdemeanor charges that they engaged in disorderly conduct and illegally demonstrated inside the building. But he acquitted Hunter Seefried of other misdemeanor charges for clearing a shard of glass from a broken window at the Capitol.

They will remain free pending separate sentencing hearings in September.

Judge McFadden, whom President Donald Trump nominated in 2017, presided over two previous bench trials for Capitol riot defendants. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another.

Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window.

Judge McFadden rejected the defense argument that Kevin Seefried never intended to interfere with the congressional proceedings.

“I find that he knew what he was doing,” Judge McFadden said.

The judge described Kevin Seefreid as the “prime mover” in their decision to go to Washington on Jan. 6. Judge McFadden said Hunter Seefried’s guilt on the obstruction charge was a “closer question,” but the judge ultimately concluded that the son engaged in “aggravated conduct” that supported a conviction.

FBI agents said they did not find any evidence linking Kevin Seefried or his son to any far-right extremist groups. Kevin Seefried told an agent that he did not view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate.

The trial included the first public testimony of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who has been lauded for his bravery during the Jan. 6 attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Officer Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. He also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob.

Officer Goodman encountered Kevin Seefried before the mob chased the officer up a set of stairs, a harrowing episode captured on video. The officer said the elder Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at him with the base end of his flagpole three or four times without making contact with him.

Neither defendant testified at their trial.

The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Del., to hear Mr. Trump’s speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. They were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors.

The Seefrieds, who waived their right to jury trial, were the first riot defendants to get a bench trial on a felony charge.