A Pennsylvania man and decorated Army Ranger who partook in one of the longest and most violent assaults on police during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was convicted after a stipulated bench trial in August of three felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding, robbery and assaulting police with a dangerous weapon.
Now, he’s been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.
Robert Morss, 29, served three tours of duty in Afghanistan with the 2nd Ranger Battalion and received an array of awards, including the Army Commendation Medal for his service. According to prosecutors, his military bonafides made his role in the Capitol riot a much “darker character” than other participants.
Morss stole a riot shield away from a police officer and then helped to organize rioters to push their way through a line of outnumbered officers and into the Capitol. One of his co-defendants, Patrick McCaughey III, of Connecticut, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for scaling the scaffolding that had been set up for Joe Biden’s inauguration before joining the mob in the tunnel and using the stolen police shield to crush Officer Daniel Hodges against a wall.
“The image of a battle-dressed Army Ranger turning against his own country and attacking the men and women protecting the Capitol building is striking,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Bond wrote. “In choosing to go on the attack on January 6th, he turned his back on his duty to serve and protect his country as he once did.”
