DOJ Retracts Claim of ‘Fully Constructed’ Capitol LEGO Set; LEGO of Riot Suspect ‘in a Box’

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has withdrawn its claim that a Capitol riot suspect was found to be in possession of a “fully constructed” LEGO set depicting the U.S. Capitol; the LEGO set was still contained in a box, the DOJ said Friday.

As Breitbart News reported last week:

Robert Morss, a substitute social studies teacher, allegedly engaged in violent behavior during the riot, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette …

In court documents filed July 2, as the Department of Justice pushed for Morss to be detained until trial, the federal government noted:

During his arrest, law enforcement recovered some clothing and other items that appear to match those he carried with him on the 6th – including a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, a neck gaiter, a military utility bag, a black tourniquet, and military fatigues. (Law enforcement also recoverd a fully constructed U.S. Capitol Lego set.) In addition, MORSS had three different firearms including a handgun, a shotgun, and a rifle.

…

The Capitol set is one of the most sought-after and most expensive LEGO sets, currently priced at $266.95 at Amazon.com.

However, in a new filing, the DOJ said:

In the original detention memoranda, the undersigned stated that law enforcement found a “fully constructed U.S. Capitol Lego set.” Please note that after a review of the photographs from the search, there appears to have been a miscommunication and that statement appears to be inaccurate. The Lego set was in a box and not fully constructed at the time of the search, as pictured below.

The DOJ is seeking to ensure that Morss remains in custody, pending trial.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.