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A Katy man pleaded guilty Friday to felonious assault of a federal law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol building as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office. 

Adam Lejay Jackson, 43, is subject to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of his deal, Jackson must also pay $2,000 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol to cover property damage from the insurrection, as well as an unspecified amount to the victims of the riots. That amount will be determined before Jackson’s sentencing. 

A video screengrab of Adam Jackson, left, and his brother Brian, right, shows the pair at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. "This video and image were likely taken after they had assaulted law enforcement officers, given that Adam Jackson is no longer wearing his baseball hat and his raised hand appears to have blood on it," prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
A video screengrab of Adam Jackson, left, and his brother Brian, right, shows the pair at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. Prosecutors say Adam Jackson had blood on his right hand after assaulting police. (Courtesy photo / Federal court records)

“It was kind of a no-brainer for us,” said Jackson’s attorney, Joseph McBride. “(Jackson) was just too risk-averse to go to trial, and I don’t blame him.”

McBride has gained national attention for taking on clients from the Jan. 6 insurrection. McBride said the goal was to get Jackson a plea deal that would limit his amount of time spent in prison and allow him to rejoin his family.

“Jan. 6 trials are nearly impossible to get an acquittal in Washington, D.C., and we felt that although the offer is, you know, a hard thing to accept, we felt it was the best one that we were going to get,” the New York-based attorney said.

Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced in February. 

According to court records, Jackson admitted to hurling a large orange cone at police and ramming into them with a stolen police riot shield. He had flown to Washington with his brother and co-defendant, Brian, and another friend to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally to support President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed he was the victim of election fraud. 

After arriving at the Capitol, Jackson and his friend climbed on top of a ladder and took a cell phone video in which Jackson could be heard encouraging rioters to push and fight while yelling obscenities at law enforcement officers.

Court documents also indicate that Jackson’s video was posted to Facebook, and chat logs show that Jackson was planning on going back to Washington for President Joe Biden’s inauguration in the following weeks.

The original complaint from federal investigators filed in June alleges that Jackson’s brother attempted to delete photos, videos, and text messages surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection. In one message, Brian Jackson messaged someone saying, “I took my other fb page down because of my trip to (D.C.) on 6th posted a bunch pics I shouldn’t have.”

Brian Jackson is also accused of hurling an American flag on a flagpole at officers during the riots. Court records indicate that the federal government intends to offer a plea deal to Jackson. His next hearing date is set for October 12.

This isn’t Adam Jackson’s first run in with the law. Court documents show that he had various misdemeanor arrests in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as a felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 1998. At the time, he was sentenced to 10 years’ probation.

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Akhil Ganesh is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Abdelraoufsinno. He was previously a local government watchdog reporter in Staunton, Virginia, where he focused on providing community-centric...