Maryland man sentenced for assaulting police during Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection

BALTIMORE — A Fredrick County man was sentenced Tuesday for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

According to prosecutors, Adam Ryan Obest, 43, of Thurmont attended the “Stop the Steal” rally before going to the Captiol’s Lower West Terrace. 

Video footage showed Obest holding a large American flag attached to a metal flagpole, and swinging it at police officers after being told not to advance up a stairway.

Minutes later, Obest engaged in another confrontation with police, raising the lagpole above his head and bringing it down abruptly toward a line of police officers before another officer tried to confiscate the flagpole. 

He also attempted to take a baton from a Metropolitan Police Department officer and later threw a smoke grenade at law enforcement, according to court documents.

In June 2023 detectives identified Obest as a suspect, matching photos from his social media account to photos captured of him at the Million MAGA March in November 2020. The photos showed an American glag tattoo on his left shoulder, which resembled a similar tattoo shown in his booking photos from an unrelated arrest in 2018. 

The FBI arrested Obest in Maryland on June 13, 2023. He was found guilty of two felony charges, including civil disorder, and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer.  

Obest was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 36 months of supervised released.