Landon Copeland, Capitol Riot Defendant, Yells, 'I Used to Be a Free Man,' in Chaotic Court Hearing

Landon Copeland yelled several times during a disruptive Zoom appearance for his court hearing on several charges that include disorderly conduct and assaulting law enforcement officers during the riots on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The 33-year-old Utah man screamed obscenities at the judge, called a court official "evil," and at one point loudly objected to a question asked during another defendant's hearing.

Prosecutors allege Copeland took a riot shield from an officer, pushed another rioter into a police line, and threw a metal police barricade at officers. The criminal complaint details that Instagram footage shows Copeland and others grabbing the barricade and pulling it away from who officers who appeared to be from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. At this point, "[o]ne or more officers deployed OC [oleoresin capsicum or pepper] spray against members of the crowd, including Copeland. In response, Copeland pushed or threw the fence toward multiple law enforcement officers."

The Daily Beast reported that Copeland "invited several of his MAGA friends to his initial court appearance on Thursday—then wreaked havoc during the hearing.…"

The chaos began before Copeland's hearing started with him shouting while other defendants made appearances before Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather. He objected to a defense lawyer claiming her client had become radicalized from watching too much Fox News during the pandemic, and he eventually had to be put on mute.

Copeland resumed where he left off as soon as he was unmuted, accord to The Daily Beast, screaming, "I'm going to tell the truth!" At one point, he also yelled "You are evil!" at a court clerk.

Captiol Hill reporter Scott MacFarlane of NBC4 Washington also followed the hearing and tweeted updates throughout. He noted there was more signs of trouble with Copeland early on before his hearing began. MacFarlane wrote: "This is getting out of control. Defendant is now yelling at judge 'Is any of this negotiable? I used to be a free man…until you locked me up.' Copeland's hearing is still several minutes away, he's disrupting court…and appears rattled by pretrial detention."

Another update from MacFarlane reported the following: "Copeland is screaming. At judge. 'How long can I postpone this? I'm a vet. You owe this to me. You've all f***ed this up. You're a robot to me. You can't come get me if I don't want you to!'"

MacFarlane noted the hearing was eventually paused so that Copeland could be put into a breakout room. Following an hour-long break for the court to discuss Copeland's outbreaks, his lawyer indicated to Meriweather that his client was troubled.

According to The Daily Beast, his lawyer told the judge: "In my conversations with him, I don't think he's being intentionally belligerent. I don't think he's competent to proceed right now."

Meriweather decided to order Copeland to undergo a remote competency screening before she sets another status hearing.

Prosecutors had earlier mentioned the possibility that Copeland, a veteran who served in Iraq, may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.