WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Shelbyville man pleaded guilty on Friday to carrying a revolver loaded with shotgun shells and hollow points on Capitol grounds along with assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan 6., 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Mark Andrew Mazza, 57, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon and carrying a pistol without a license. He faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for charges against the officers and up to five years in prison for the firearms charge.
Mazza’s sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge on Sept. 20.
According to federal court documents, Mazza brought a Taurus revolver, loaded with shotgun shells and hollow point bullets, into Washington, D.C., to the Ellipse, and then to the Capitol. Sometime on the U.S Capitol grounds before 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, Mazza lost possession of the revolver.
Mazza then illegally made his way to the Lower West Terrance and into the Capitol building, court documents said. Mazza is captured on video surveillance joining other rioters to push through at least 20 officers who were defending the tunnel entrance to the Capitol.
In the footage, Mazza is shown to have held open doors in order for other rioters to attack officers with flag poles, batons, sticks and stolen law enforcement shields. He also took a baton and struck an officer with the weapon while shouting, “This is our f—– house! We own this house!”
Mazza eventually left Capitol grounds once flash bangs were deployed later in the afternoon, court documents reveal.
On Jan. 8, 2021, Mazza filed a false police report in Indiana where he claimed to have lost his gun at an Ohio casino. The gun was recovered at the Capitol on Jan. 6 shortly before 2:30 p.m.
Mazza was arrested on Nov. 17, 2021, at his home in Shelbyville.
