A Utah man charged with assaulting cops during the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6 told a judge to ‘come f*** with me’ during his Zoom court hearing on Thursday.
Landon Kenneth Copeland, 33, invited his mother and several of his friends to view his court hearing before his repeated bizarre outbursts while a bewildered court administrator continually tried to mute his microphone, outlets reported.
Copeland’s hearing comes as the FBI said they are still after ‘worst of the worst’ four months in to the investigation and prosecution of alleged rioters. More than 440 people, including Copeland, have been charged with taking part in the violence.
‘You people f**ked this up. You’re going to give me a psych eval. I don’t like 70 percent of my income going to the government. F**k all of you!’ Copeland screamed at Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather.
Before his hearing even began, Copeland was seen shouting and interrupting while other accused rioters appeared before the judge, Daily Beast reported.
‘I object!’ Copeland screamed during another defendant’s hearing when a defense lawyer criticized Donald Trump, according to NBC reporter Scott MacFarlane. The court then muted his microphone.
A trail of digital evidence led FBI investigators to a Utah man whom they believe assaulted police during the breach of the United States Capitol on January 6
Landon Kenneth Copeland, 33, was caught on video entering the Capitol grounds and stood at the front of a line of rioters shouting at officers
He then allegedly shoved another rioter into an officer which caused the cop to fall to the ground – resulting in officers equipped with riot gear to push forward against the crowd
Copeland then allegedly grabbed one of their riot shields and pushed against the police line, grabbing an officer’s jacket and shoving them
After cops pepper sprayed the crowd, including Copeland, he allegedly retaliated by throwing a metal fence at cops
When Copeland was interviewed by the FBI, he admitted to attending the Stop the Steal rally and confessed to fighting with police officers
When Copeland was unmuted, he interrupted the court again when a defense lawyer for another defendant blamed Fox News for the alleged radicalization of the rioters.
The lawyer had said his client had ‘Foxitus’ after watching six months of Fox News during the pandemic, Daily Beast reported.
Copeland began to yell that he was ‘going to tell the truth’ as he launched into another outburst.
During yet another dramatic haranguing, Copeland said: ‘I’m a vet. You owe this to me. You’ve all f**ked this up. You’re a robot to me. You can’t come get me if I don’t want you to. F**k all of you. F**k all of you.’
Copeland also told court clerks: ‘You are evil.’
His attorney Ryan Stout tried to silence his client multiple times throughout his repeated outbursts and argued that his client was ‘in crisis,’ WUSA reported.
According to the outlet, Copeland also yelled at Judge Meriweather: ‘You’re going to give me what the (expletive) I want! You’re going to do what the (expletive) I tell you to do! I’m in the middle of the desert! You can’t (expletive) find me!’
The judge then put him in a separate Zoom room so that he could no longer interrupt the proceeding, Daily Beast reported.
‘I wanna talk in open court you motherf**kers!’ Copeland said.
At one point, Copeland asked: ‘Is any of this negotiable? I used to be a free man until you locked me up.’
MacFarlane tweeted that Copeland kept unmuting himself after being muted by court officials and even hung up on the court three times during his hearing before reappearing.
At some point, the court then took an hour-long break so court officials could discuss how to proceed through Copeland’s incessant interruptions, Daily Beast reported.
After Copeland’s ranting, the judge ordered him to receive a mental health evaluation before continuing his hearing on May 18, WUSA reported.
Copeland had said during the hearing that he had been shot while serving in the military in Iraq and prosecutors acknowledged that he has previously said he suffered from PTSD, according to Daily Beast.
‘In my conversations with him, I don’t think he’s being intentionally belligerent. I don’t think he’s competent to proceed right now,’ his lawyer added.
Copeland has been charged with assaulting police officers, obstruction of law enforcement, knowingly entering restricted buildings or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
According to his criminal complaint, Copeland was caught on video entering the Capitol grounds and stood at the front of a line of rioters shouting at officers.
He then allegedly shoved another rioter into an officer which caused the cop to fall to the ground – resulting in officers equipped with riot gear to push forward against the crowd.
Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and clashing with police officers
Violent rioters, loyal to then-President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington
Trump supporters face off with police at the Capitol Building following the ‘Stop The Steal’ rally where they assembled to protest the 2020 election results
Supporters of President Trump who were trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election clash with police as the crowd storms the US Capitol
The largest number of people charged in relation to the deadly riot come from Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida, in that order
Copeland then allegedly grabbed one of their riot shields and pushed against the police line, grabbing an officer’s jacket and shoving them.
In another video that was posted to Instagram, Copeland and other rioters were allegedly seen grabbing a metal fence police had put up as a barricade.
Cops then used pepper spray against the crowd, including Copeland, who allegedly retaliated by throwing the fence at cops.
Copeland admitted to ‘getting into a scuffle’ with police to an acquaintance of his who was interviewed by the FBI on February 11.
He was arrested by federal agents on April 29 and had been granted a pre-trial release which may now be in jeopardy after his outbursts.
Copeland is the fifth man from Utah to be arrested
When Copeland was interviewed by the FBI, he admitted to attending the Stop the Steal rally and confessed to fighting with police officers.
‘According to Copeland, he felt that police officers were trying to ‘penetrate the line’ of the protesters and ‘steal’ individual members of the crowd,’ the complaint reads.
Copeland claimed to the FBI that he did not enter the Capitol building.
NBC News noted that the investigation into the Capitol rioters is one of the largest criminal investigations in American history and continues to grow.
‘We’re not done rounding up the worst of the worst. We’re not slowing down,’ one law enforcement official told the outlet.
FBI officials have not identified who planted two pipe bombs at the headquarters for both the Republican and Democrat national parties on the night before the riot.
The outlet reported that more than 440 people have been charged with taking part in the deadly riot. Prosecutors have started to offer plea deals to some of them.
People who have been charged come from all but six states so far. Those states are Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
The largest number of people charged in relation to the deadly riot come from Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida, in that order. Copeland is the fifth person to be arrested from Utah, according to KUTV.
According to NBC News, a total of 44 of those arrested, or 10%, are military veterans like Copeland.
Some women have been arrested in relation to the deadly riots but men outnumber women among those arrested by 7 to 1, the outlet noted.
The average age of those who have been arrested is 39, according to the Program on Extremism at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Nearly 90% of the alleged Capitol rioters were arrested in part because of photos and videos they posted their own social media accounts, NBC News reported.
Copeland himself made comments on Facebook as recently as April 28 – after he had been granted his pre-trial release – in which he allegedly urged others to return to the Capitol with guns. That post was read during his hearing on Thursday.
‘So that everyone knows I go to see the FBI and a judge tomorrow,’ Copeland wrote, according to Daily Beast.
‘I guess peacefully protesting at the Capitol is now illegal and they are trying to hunt us all down to try and teach us a lesson.’
He continued: ‘Unfortunately, only one option remains when we return. We bring guns and take the Capitol building without intention of being peaceful. This ends with the government bombing their own people. I had hopes it wouldn’t.’
