Man from Seneca sentenced for role in January 6th U.S. Capital riot

A man from Seneca, Missouri  was sentenced for his role in the January 6, 2021 riot on the U.S. Capital grounds in Washington, D.C.

Kyler Joseph Bard, 27, of Seneca, Missouri, had pleaded guilty to two felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder.

In addition to the felonies, Bard pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors, including entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and act of physical violence at the Capitol building or grounds.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Bard to a year and a day of incarceration, two years of supervised release, $2,000 in restitution, 100 hours of community service, and a $285 special assessment.

According to court documents, On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Bard attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., with other individuals near the Washington Monument. After the rally, Bard returned to his hotel and later made his way to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol, entering and remaining on the restricted grounds. Here, Bard took a picture of a rioter holding up and posing with a sign that read “Area Closed By Order of the Capitol Police Board.”

By approximately 3:28 p.m., court documents say that Bard was standing on a ledge on the Upper West Terrace where officers had formed a police line as a barrier between the Capitol building and the crowd. At approximately 3:30 p.m., Bard walked on top of the ledge, carrying a megaphone, and shortly thereafter, another individual near him charged the police line and pushed into the officers. In response to seeing this, Bard yelled into the megaphone, “Move! Move! Move! We gotta push! We gotta push! Let’s go! We gotta go! Let’s go!” Bard then turned directly toward the police line, and, as he yelled, “Let’s push!” took several steps and shoved a police officer.

Court documents say that for approximately 4 seconds, Bard confronted a police officer by physically moving into the officer. Bard then lost his balance and fell backward to the ground. As Bard fell backward, he yelled to the officers, “You’re all a bunch of pieces of s—.”

The FBI arrested Bard on Jan. 17, 2023, in Missouri.