DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. – A DeSoto County man is the latest person to face charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot after federal prosecutors say he was caught on camera using a four-foot-long rod to attack police officers.
Michael Leon Brock is facing four federal charges. He was arrested Tuesday in Southaven by FBI Special Agents and released early Wednesday morning when he had his first court appearance.
Brock is accused of assaulting DC Metropolitan Police while attempting to enter the Capitol Building.
Federal Investigators said they were able to confirm Brock’s presence at the capitol by tracking his phone’s location data at the time of the riot. FBI agents arrested Brock after body camera video allegedly showed him assaulting DC Metropolitan police officers with a four-foot-long rod.
“This seems to be a pretty solid case,” said former federal prosecutor Steve Mulroy, who now reaches at the University of Memphis School of Law.
He said that based on the evidence, Brock’s legal team would have limited defense options.
“I suppose they could try to argue that the person in the photographs and in the films isn’t in fact the defendant,” said Mulroy.
The Pew Research Center found that in 2018, 90 percent of those charged at the federal level pleaded guilty before going to trial. Of those who opted for a trial, only 17 percent were acquitted.
“Federal prosecutors tend to win their cases because they choose only the cases that they think they have the strongest evidence for,” said Mulroy.
When WREG knocked on the door at Brock’s home near Walls, our news crew was told he wasn’t home. Records show he owns a freight company called Tri State Enterprises, which is headquartered at his house.
Brock is charged with assaulting federal law enforcement, disorderly conduct in the Capitol Building, physical violence on Capitol grounds, and obstruction of law enforcement. Mulroy said Brock faces a minimum of 27 months in prison if convicted.
