Burgettstown man accused of participating in Jan. 6 riots expected to plead guilty today

The Burgettstown man accused of hitting police officers with a metal pipe and throwing objects at them during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol is expected to plead guilty to federal charges this afternoon.

Joshua Lee Atwood, 32, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C. for a change of plea hearing at 2:30 p.m. today. He was arrested in Washington County on April 17 after being accused of participating in the riot nearly four years ago.

Investigators accuse Atwood of throwing various objects and throwing a metal flagpole at police officers protecting the Capitol building as a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to thwart President Joe Biden’s Electoral College certification. Atwood is also accused of throwing a large metal pipe at the police line, hitting a D.C. Metro police officer and a Virginia State Police trooper, and also hitting another officer in the helmet and face mask with a wooden pole. He also entered the Capitol at one point through a broken window, according to the indictment, and was seen in photos inside the building.

Federal prosecutors initially offered Atwood and her attorney a plea offer on July 17, which was set to expire a month later, according to online court documents. The two sides continued negotiations, and prosecutors sent a “revised plea offer” on Aug. 21, which Atwood apparently accepted, leading to the rescheduled plea hearing today before U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss. Details of the plea offer were not made public ahead of the hearing.

Atwood's defense attorney, Ami Collins, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Whitesel, who is prosecuting the case for the federal government, both declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday morning.

Federal investigators located Atwood after he was arrested for an alleged robbery and assault at the Crazy Donkey restaurant in Chester, West Virginia, in April 2023. Atwood was indicted on federal charges a year later and arrested in Burgettstown. Atwood was later extradited to a Washington, D.C., jail, where he is being held pending trial in his case.

Atwood faces felony charges of civil disorder; assaulting, resisting, or obstructing certain officers; assaulting, resisting, or obstructing certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon; entering, remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and committing physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds; committing physical violence on Capitol grounds or building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.