Man arrested for assaulting Illinois Capitol security officer
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. April 30 2020 A Springfield man is facing several charges after the Secretary of State Police say he refused to leave the Statehouse and hit an officer.
Around 6 p.m. on April 19, Secretary of State Police say Joseph G. Lyons entered the Capitol North Door.
The Capitol is currently closed because it was after hours and the whole complex was closed due to COVID-19.
We’re told that Lyons then began asking a security guard multiple questions about contacting legislature and needing to speak with them about a particular bill.
The guard said that for several minutes he repeatedly asked Lyons to leave the building, but Lyons repeatedly refused and continued to ask “various questions about the government.”
Lyons reportedly left the building only to return a few minutes later to continue questioning the guards.
Security Guards reported that they continued to ask Lyons to leave, to which he repeatedly refused, saying “he had a right to be there because of freedom of assembly.”
One of the security guards stepped forward and told Lyons that if he didn’t leave he would be arrested for criminal trespassing.
Lyons eventually stepped through the front doors and down a couple of steps before putting down his belongings, turning around and stating “let’s do this,” according to a report.
That’s when Lyons allegedly took up a “fighting stance” and lunged at a security guard.
Lyons is accused of hitting one of the security guards in the mouth and pushing another.
It took multiple security guards to get Lyson on the ground and in handcuffs.
A folding knife that had been in Lyons pocket was later found on the ground.
Lyons was taken to the Sangamon County Jail on charges of criminal trespass to state-supported land, aggravated battery, and resisting an officer.
WICS/WRSP
