Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 71, of Falkville, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an unregistered firearm: FBI

Staff Report –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The most heavily armed man arrested and charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack investigation is from Alabama, and he now faces years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to bringing five loaded firearms and 11 molotov cocktails in his truck to Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, intended to bring a halt to the peaceful transfer of power by disrupting the vote in Congress to certify the results showing Joe Biden the winner.

Another Alabama man was arrested this week for his crimes on behalf of Trump during the insurrection.

Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 71, of Falkville, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an unregistered firearm or destructive device, the molotov cocktails found in his truck by Metropolitan Police in D.C. on Jan. 6, and one count of carrying a pistol without a license.

He was the first person indicted and arrested in the pro-Trump protest, rally and march that devolved into a violent insurrection.

Coffman was caught with a cooler containing Mason jars filled with gasoline and melted plastic foam to produce a dangerous “napalm-like” explosion of sticky, flammable liquid. He admitted his guilt in a two-hour plea hearing in Federal District Court in Washington. He also pleaded guilty to a second count for making 12 similar improvised explosive devices found at his home.

The Army veteran brought a loaded rifle, a shotgun, two 9mm pistols and a .22-caliber pistol and carried two of the loaded pistols with him as he walked to the Capitol.

“Do you agree with those parts you could make a molotov cocktail at the time you were putting them together? … When you got to Washington, D.C., you still knew all those ingredients could be put together to make a molotov cocktail, is that correct?” U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Coffman said, according to on the ground reporting from the Washington Post.

Coffman denied any intent to use the devices, claiming the three-year-old gasoline in the jars “was not deadly anymore” and may not have exploded.

U.S. prosecutors agreed to drop the rest of a 17-count indictment, all local charges for violating District gun and ammunition laws, in exchange for his guilty pleas.

Coffman faces 37 to 46 months, or three to four years in prison, under non-binding federal guidelines at sentencing. His defense and prosecutors may argue for more or less time, and the government may seek an upper-end sentence claiming that Coffman’s offense qualified for a terrorism enhancement, intending to intimidate public officials or retaliate against the government, the judge indicated.

The judge hinted she would be interested in learning about his intent with the weapons at his sentencing hearing.

According to the indictment, police spotted weapons in Coffman’s parked truck in the 300 block of First Street SE while searching an area of Capitol Hill that had been sealed off because unexploded pipe bombs had been reported near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic parties minutes before the mob assault began about 1  p.m.

No arrests related to the pipe bomb threats were ever made, and it has been alleged that those threats could have been intended as a diversion to distract Capitol Police away from protecting the Capitol. Coffman was arrested when returning to his truck.

In detaining Coffman pending trial early in the case, the judge cited evidence by federal prosecutors that Coffman had potential plans to coordinate with others and was prepared for political violence.

Coffman approached the Washington home and office of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) weeks earlier to discuss “election fraud” and previously joined an armed-citizen camp at the Texan border, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, An Alabama man was arrested today for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Gregory Lamar Nix, 52, of Cleveland, Ala., is charged with engaging in physical violence on Jan. 6: FBI

Gregory Lamar Nix, 52, of Cleveland, Ala., is charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, among other charges. He was arrested in Cleveland, Ala. and made his initial court appearance this week in the Northern District of Alabama, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to court documents, at approximately 2:21 p.m. on Jan. 6, video footage captures Nix banging the end of a white flagpole against the East House Doors, attempting to breach the U.S. Capitol building.

Approximately six minutes later, Nix physically assaulted a Capitol Police officer, striking him with the flagpole and then thrusting and throwing the object at him. A few minutes later, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Nix attempted to smash the East House Doors’ glass panes with a black baton, then entered the building.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office. Assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

In the ten months since Jan. 6, more than 675 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 210 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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