Uniontown man found guilty of assaulting officers with pepper spray at Jan. 6 riot

WASHINGTON (KDKA) - A Uniontown man was found guilty of assaulting officers with pepper spray during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Forty-nine-year-old Peter Schwartz was convicted at trial of four counts of felony assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon; interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder; obstruction of an official proceeding and related charges. 

Prosecutors said Schwartz was at the front of the police line when he threw a folding chair at officers, later telling a friend that he "started a riot" by "throwing the first chair." 

He then allegedly stole a police duffel bag full of O.C. spray canisters that prosecutors said he distributed to other mob members, including his wife. Wielding a large MK-46 canister and carrying a wooden tire thumper, prosecutors said he "indiscriminately" sprayed retreating officers. 

Two other men, Jeffrey Brown of Santa Ana, California and Markus Maly of Fincastle, Virginia, were also found guilty of spraying officers. The Department of Justice said they were the first Jan. 6 defendants convicted of assaulting officers with pepper spray.

Schwartz' wife, Shelly Stallings, pleaded guilty in August. 

Sentencing hasn't been scheduled yet but is set for next year.