SC man led rioters through Pelosi’s office and more into Capitol, evidence shows

New government evidence made public Thursday said a South Carolina man already charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “led a pack of rioters through (House) Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s suite” that day.

The new evidence also alleges that William “Robbie” Norwood III, of Greer, continually uttered curse words as he roamed the Capitol and at one point shouted, “What now! This is our house. ... Where you at, Nancy?”

Norwood was taking a video of himself as he went, evidence showed.

Minutes later, Norwood went to another part of the Capitol, where he and other rioters “banged on doors” to the outside and “eventually pushed open the doors, which allowed hundreds of rioters to stream into the U.S. Capitol Building from the outside,” according to the new evidence.

Norwood’s videos depict him as excited by the mob event, shouting, “It’s our house ...!” and “The soldiers’ house! Go home police! Bye you (expletive deleted).”

Norwood was among the first rioters who entered the Capitol last Jan. 6, going into the building at 2:23 p.m., just minutes after the Secret Service hustledi then-Vice President Pence out of the Senate chamber. Pence was at the Capitol that day to preside over a joint session of Congress where the electoral votes from the 50 states were being counted. The votes showed that former President Donald Trump had lost the 2020 election to current President Joe Biden.

Norwood, a Trump supporter, was arrested last February. He is one of 11 people from South Carolina facing charges connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Although Norwood faces a variety of serious charges in the Capitol riot, the new evidence asserts he was far more of an active participant in the riot than previously alleged.

The new evidence surfaced Thursday in a government motion filed just before a virtual hearing at which federal prosecutors asked U.S. Judge Emmet Sullivan to put Norwood in jail for trying to intimidate an important potential witness in his case.

Norwood faces multiple charges in Jan. 6 riot

Norwood carried out “what appears to be a sustained campaign ... to coerce, intimidate, threaten, and corruptly persuade a potential government witness to recant her statements to law enforcement and to obstruct justice,” according to the prosecution motion filed Thursday.

The witness is Norwood’s estranged wife. She was not identified by name in court records.

Sullivan said he was “extremely concerned” about the government’s motion but declined to immediately jail Norwood.

The judge also said he will hold a February hearing where he will hear evidence about Norwood’s alleged witness tampering. Norwood’s lawyer, Peter Cooper, will have a chance to rebut that evidence.

“If I hear one more allegation under oath by your estranged wife that you have contacted her, I will issue a sealed bench warrant and have you arrested,” the judge told Norwood.

Underscoring the seriousness of the matter, the judge continued, “I’m concerned about potential danger to any witness. There are too many times when we pick up the newspaper following day after one of these domestic violence hearings and see where someone’s head has been blown off. I’m going to do whatever I can to avoid that.”

The prosecution’s motion in the case said Norwood “has, at the very least, been pressuring his estranged wife to recant her statements to the FBI, to not be truthful, and to “keep [her] mouth shut.”

The estranged wife was also quoted in the prosecution motion as saying, “Robert Norwood has been trying to [coerce] me into emailing you, stating that, anything from my statements to the FBI were not true. However, I do not feel comfortable lying [sic] about anything. ... I do not feel comfortable in anything that he was telling me to do.”

The judge asked Norwood whether he had any questions about staying away from his wife.

“Not any more, sir,” Norwood said.

Norwood, who was arrested by the FBI in February 2021, has been out on bond but under various restrictions.

He is on home detention, being monitored by GPS and has been ordered not to contact potential witnesses.

He faces multiple charges in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including stealing government property, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, entering and remaining in certain Capitol rooms.

Two of those charges are felonies and he faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.

Norwood was arrested within six weeks of the Capitol riot after a person close to his family tipped off the FBI that he had been bragging about his actions on that day, according to a federal complaint in his case.

The complaint said Norwood sent text messages to his family that, in part, read, “It worked. ... I got away with things that others were shot or arrested for.

He also texted that he “got a nice helmet and body armor off a cop for God’s sake and I disarmed him. Tell me how that works,” according to the complaint.

OnThursday, assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell said Norwood still wanted to stand trial on the charges against him. The judge said that likely means his trial will take place sometime this summer.

Norwood was one of thousands of people who came to Washington last January after hearing Trump and his allies falsely claim that Biden and Democrats had committed massive voting fraud.

More than 100 police officers were injured in the riot.

Norwood was not part of any organized group that day, but the complaint in his case said Norwood brought brought bear spray, a tactical vest and a knife to Washington with him.

Although Norwood left those items in a hotel room, they are evidence that he “engaged in prior planning before arriving in Washington D.C. on January 6” and was “not just caught up in the frenzy of the crowd, but instead came to Washington, D.C. with the intention of causing mayhem and disrupting the democratic process,” according to a filing in his case.

The FBI has arrested more than 725 people in connection with the riot.

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 3:29 PM.