GREAT FALLS - A Great Falls man has been charged for alleged actions taken during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Patrick William O'Brien, 54, was arrested on Jan. 5, 2023, in Great Falls. He is accused of four misdemeanors including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct on capitol grounds and; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the capitol building.
According to the Department of Justice, O’Brien drove to Washington D.C. from Montana with his juvenile son. The prosecution alleges O’Brien and his son were in the Capitol building for around 28 minutes and could be seen in CCTV footage in the Capitol Rotunda waving a “Gadsden” flag. He is accused of entering the west side of the U.S. Capitol building through the first-floor Senate Wing Door.
More than 950 people have been arrested in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. O’Brien is the eighth known Montana resident charged for alleged actions that day. So far, four Montanans have pleaded guilty and three have been sentenced to prison.
