Jesse James Rumson, the man who dressed in a panda costume when he entered the competition on January 6, 2021, Insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer, according to court documents.
Earlier this month, Rumson waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead test bench. He was convicted on all eight counts Friday by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of assaulting and resisting Prince George’s County Cpl. Scott Ainsworth and for broader disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Rumson will be sentenced in September.
Government exhibition
After rioters broke down a door in the Senate wing On January 6, 2021, prosecutors said Rumson jumped the railing and was “one of the first about 20” to enter the building through that entrance. Photos from that day show Rumson wearing a panda costume and carrying a white flag that reads, “Don’t step on me.” According to the charging papers, he was dubbed “#SeditionPanda” by some online communities.
While in the Capitol, prosecutors said Rumson lost his panda head and was apparently handcuffed before having to leave the Capitol through another door.
But in court documents, prosecutors presented photographic evidence showing that rioters helped remove the handcuffs from Rumson’s wrists.
Government exhibition
Once released, he reportedly ran through the crowd gathered outside the Capitol toward a line of officers defending the building. He then allegedly grabbed an officer’s mask, “forcing the officer’s head and neck backward and upward.”
Prosecutors showed multiple images of Rumson, both with and without the panda headgear. Rumson was arrested in February 2023, more than two years after the attack on the Capitol.
Ainsworth, the officer who was attacked, testified about Rumson’s attack last week, according to NBC News.
Department of Justice
The Justice Department has prosecuted more than 1,200 criminal cases following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Of those, more than 700 had pleaded guilty to various charges, and many more have been convicted.
