Son of famed American artist charged for actions

BOSTON >> For years, Vincent Gillespie waged a legal battle to try to gain control of hundreds of paintings by his father — renowned postwar American artist Gregory Gillespie.

On Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors say, Gillespie engaged in a very different kind of battle, joining rioters as they tried to wrest control of the U.S. Capitol from the federal government in one of the most violent confrontations of the riot. Gillespie, who investigators say was identified by half a dozen sources from images taken that day, was among a mob trying to force its way through a tunnel at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol — an assault that almost succeeded by his own description.

“We were almost overpowering them,” Gillespie, blood visible on his scalp from the clash, told an Associated Press journalist at the scene that day. “If you had like another 15, 20 guys behind us pushing I think we could have won it.”

The AP video that captured a flushed Gillespie that day milling about outside the Capitol speaking defiantly about his role in the attack — and his lament that more like-minded individuals didn't join the fight — reveal both the depth of resolve of many of the rioters, and the uncertainty others felt about just what they would do once inside the building.

What is clear, federal investigators said, is that Gillespie participated in a violent struggle against law enforcement officials trying to prevent rioters from entering the building as a joint session of Congress was engaged in certifying Electoral College votes.

Gillespie is one of more than 775 people arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia in connection with the Jan. 6 assault.