Man who wore panda headpiece on Jan. 6 convicted on multiple charges

A Florida man who wore a panda headpiece to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was convicted on multiple charges, including assaulting a law enforcement officer.

Jesse James Rumson, 38, was found guilty on Friday by District Judge Carl J. Nichols of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder, which are both felony offenses. He was also found guilty of six misdemeanor offenses.

Rumson traveled from Florida to the nation’s capital and attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. Authorities noted that Rumson appeared to be wearing a large headpiece that looked like it came from a panda costume for the first half of the day.

Prosecutors stated Rumson was among the rioters who first breached the perimeter set up around the Capitol that day and made his way to the Lower West Terrace, adding that he later climbed the northwest stairs underneath the scaffolding before entering the Capitol through the smashed Parliamentarian door about 2:42 p.m. that day, still wearing his panda headpiece.

Authorities also said Rumson had an altercation with police inside the building and later emerged in handcuffs 13 minutes after entering the building, with his eyes red from the pepper spray and without the panda headpiece.

Rumson, who was arrested last year in connection with the actions he took that day, will be sentenced on Sept. 5.

Nichols found that Rumson’s actions that day were “absurd” and “patently incompatible with the objective evidence and testimony,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

More than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states in connection to the actions they took on Jan. 6, 2021, while Congress was certifying President Biden’s win over former President Trump in the 2020 election. More than 500 individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.