Seneca man sentenced for role during US Capitol riot

WASHINGTON – A Missouri man was sentenced to prison on Nov. 15, 2024, after he previously pleaded guilty to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Kyler Joseph Bard, 27, of Seneca, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta to 12 months and one day in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Bard previously pleaded guilty to two felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder and 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.

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.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri provided valuable assistance.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City and Washington Field Offices, which identified Bard as BOLO AFO (Be on the Lookout Assault on Federal Officer) #447 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 46 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,561 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.