Jan. 6 Defendant Who Stole Booze and a Coat Rack Says He Was ‘Following Presidential Orders’

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

A man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of last year said in court Wednesday he was simply “following presidential orders.”

Dustin Thompson, 38, is accused of participating in the riot. NBC’s Ryan J. Reilly reported Thompson is the third person to opt for a trial after participating in the riot:

Thompson, the third Jan. 6 defendant to face a jury, has adopted a very different defense strategy than the two others: trying to convince jurors that Trump is ultimately responsible for the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. His attorney told the jury Tuesday that “vulnerable” people like Thompson believed Trump’s lies about a stolen election, and that Trump authorized the attack on the Capitol.

Regarding what made Thompson so “vulnerable,” his defense claims, he says he had no positive role models growing up. He apparently viewed Trump as a positive figure in his life and sought his approval.

“If the president is giving you almost an order to do something, I felt obligated to do that,” he said of his participation in the riot.

Thompson entered the Capitol, where he admitted to stealing a coat rack and a bottle of bourbon.

He reportedly graduated from Ohio State University in 2008. In early 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, he lost his job as an exterminator.

He told the court Wednesday that was when he “went down the rabbit hole on the internet.” After following the 2020 election online, Thompson said he began to believe it was not possible Trump lost the election.

Although his wife did not agree with his politics, she assisted him in making his way to Washington before the riot. There, he listened to Trump’s speech on the morning of Jan. 6.

“The way he was saying it was believable to me,” Thompson said. “I mean, I believed him.”

“I can’t believe the things that I did,” he also said. “I don’t know where my head was at.”

Thompson said in the future he plans to make his own decisions.

“I can’t let other people tell me what to do,” he told the court. “Even if they’re the president.”

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