Man blaming Trump’s ‘orders’ for riot actions found guilty

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Ohio man who testified that he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the U.S. Capitol has been convicted of obstructing Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury on Thursday also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from an office inside the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Thompson, an exterminator who lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the first Capitol riot defendant to mount a trial defense blaming Trump and members of his inner circle for the insurrection.