WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Florida man nicknamed “Sedition Panda” was found guilty on Friday on charges stemming from the Capitol riot in 2021.
The man — Jesse Rumson of Lecanto — showed up to the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, while wearing a panda costume, court records show.
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Investigators said he was spotted marching into the building, jumping over police railings and entering through the Parliamentary Doors.
“At least one open-source photograph further depicts Rumson, as #SeditionPanda, walking the halls inside the Capitol wearing the panda headpiece,” an investigative report reads.
Rumson was also seen removing the panda headpiece several times, and he ultimately left the Capitol building before walking to the Senate Wing Door, investigators added.
“Shortly thereafter, Rumson is captured in open-source video and photographs near the Senate Wing Door sometime around the time when that door was breached for a second time,” the report reads. “In the video, he can be heard yelling, ‘Get a Ram!’”
Afterward, investigators said, Rumson ran toward an officer and grabbed an officer’s face shield.
He was ultimately arrested last year on eight federal charges, including impeding law enforcement, aiding and abetting, entering a restricted federal building, and disorderly conduct.
On Friday, he was found guilty on all eight charges.
Rumson’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
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