Brian Christopher Mock at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A Jan. 6 rioter who boasted about assaulting a police officer at the U.S. Capitol and advocated for a “violent mass uprising” to prevent “tyrants” and “Socialists” from taking control is set to be released from prison after serving his sentence.
Brian Christopher Mock, a 45-year-old resident of Minnesota, was informed of his impending release during a resentencing hearing conducted by Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Friday. Initially sentenced in February to 33 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, Mock was also ordered to pay $2,710 in restitution and fines, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a trial held in July 2023 before Boasberg, who was appointed by Barack Obama, Mock was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding. However, his conviction was overturned after the U.S. Supreme Court determined in June that the charge had been incorrectly applied to Jan. 6 defendants.
As Law& Crime previously reported, the FBI says Mock went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 unsure of what he would face, but as he shared on social media just days later, he was prepared to fully commit to whatever came his way — even death.
“I went to the Capitol not knowing what to expect but said goodbye to my 4 children, not sure if I was going to come home,” Mock wrote on Facebook on Jan. 8, 2021, according to federal documents. “I was at peace with that knowledge.”
Citing court documents, the DOJ said that Mock was captured on body-worn camera footage “repeatedly assaulting multiple law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the building from rioters.” Mock reportedly shoved a U.S. Capitol Police officer to the ground and kicked him as another rioter grabbed the officer’s legs. Mock also allegedly “cornered” Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers and shoved another Capitol police officer to the ground.
As the mob “continued to advance and assault other officers,” Mock also “picked up multiple [Capitol Police] riot shields and passed them back to other members of the violent crowd,” according to the DOJ.
According to the DOJ, Mock’s girlfriend posted pictures and bragged about her and Mock’s Jan. 6 experience.
“Teargassed 6 times, pepper sprayed, and mustard gassed at the end,” officials said Mock’s girlfriend wrote. “But we stayed true to being Patriots, marched to the Capital [sic] and stormed the Frontline… no regrets… ashamed of the blue that harmed everyone there to stand for the cause.”
The charging documents also show Mock took in some sights in Washington, D.C., before joining the crowd of Donald Trump supporters and breaching the Capitol building.
“Before we went to the Capital [sic]… we did a little sight seeing…” read a caption of a Facebook post, where Mock is seen posing in front of the Minnesota pillar at the World War II Memorial.
FBI investigators confirmed Mock’s identity with at least eight different witnesses, including one who told the FBI that Mock “went to DC specifically for this. He is home bragging about beating up cops and destroying property in the capital [sic],” according to the charging documents.
Another witness told the FBI that they had feared Mock was a “radical” who would participate in violent protests in Minnesota. The same witness said that Mock and his girlfriend were at the “DC Capitol attack, did not enter the Capitol but were actively removing fencing … they went to the Capitol to protest and both were tear gassed.” This witness said that Mock had a “criminal history involving guns,” which the FBI investigator confirmed in the charging documents.
“According to Witness 8, Mock told Witness 8 he ‘beat the s—‘ out of a police officer.’ Witness 8 showed me text messages between Witness 8 and Mock, where Mock admits to his participation in the riots,” documents said.
Authorities said that in the month leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Mock repeatedly expressed – in public Facebook posts, text messages with his best friend, and conversations with his oldest son – his beliefs that politicians had stolen the election, and that a violent mass uprising was needed to keep such “tyrants” and “Socialists” from taking power.
“Mock was well-aware that Congress planned to convene on January 6 to review and certify the Electoral College ballots,” prosecutors wrote. “He wanted to stop it, and he was prepared to use force to do so.”
In his resentencing memo seeking to be released on time served, Mock’s public defender A.J. Kramer said Mock, who has tested positive for cancer, is remorseful and has been an exemplary inmate.
“In light of the legal developments that affect the Guidelines range the Court used to anchor its sentencing analysis, as well as Mr. Mock’s post-sentencing rehabilitation and positive cancer screening, Mr. Mock respectfully requests that the Court amend his sentence to time served,” Kramer wrote.
