Hurst man pleads guilty to assaulting police in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot

James Hartley
·2 min read
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A Hurst man has pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, resulting in body injury during the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to the Department of Justice.

Donald Hazard, 44, of Hurst, and Lucas Denney, 45, of Mansfield, were the sergeant-at-arms and president of the Patriot Boys of North Texas, a self-described militia, when on Jan. 6, 2021, they participated in the riot that breached the Capitol Building, according to the Justice Department. Prior to that day, the two men acquired protective gear in preparations for traveling to Washington, D.C.

Hazard bought a military-style helmet, knuckle gloves, goggles and body armor, according to the Justice Department. He was filmed on the day of the riot marching in D.C. by a newspaper photographer and telling the photographer, “Make sure you get my face and everything on your news channel. I want the enemy to know exactly who is coming after them.”

Around 2 p.m. that day, Hazard was with a group of other rioters at the northwest side of the Capitol Building, the Justice Department said. There, he encountered Capitol police and began fighting with one officer. While resisting an officer trying to push him back, Hazard grabbed the officer and they fell together down the stairs. The officer hit his head and was knocked unconscious and injured his head, foot and arm. Some of his injuries required surgery.

Later on, Hazard was with Denney when he advanced on a police line on the west side of the building. Both men were holding out canisters of pepper spray, according to the Justice Department. Hazard made it into the building just before 3 p.m. that day and stayed inside for about five minutes, making selfie videos in which he said things like, “We’re here at the nation’s capitol and we’re storming it. We’re taking the capitol. ... This is America, baby.”

Hazard was arrested on Dec. 13, 2021, and is scheduled for sentencing on his guilty plea on May 19.

Denney was sentenced to 52 months in prison in September.

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in almost every state for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol since Jan. 6, 2021, including 319 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the Department of Justice.