North Carolina man pleads guilty to storming Capitol to disrupt Congress

WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man has pleaded responsible to expenses that he stormed the U.S. Capitol final 12 months to disrupt Congress from certifying the Electoral Faculty vote, courtroom filings present.

Matthew Mark Wooden pleaded responsible on Friday to all six counts in his March 2021 indictment, together with a felony cost of obstructing an official continuing. The opposite 5 counts are all misdemeanors.

U.S. District Choose Amit Mehta is scheduled to condemn Wooden on Sept. 23.

A day earlier than the riot, Wooden drove from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., together with his grandmother and one other relative. Lower than per week earlier, Wooden despatched a textual content message to a different person who stated, “In the event that they wish to raid Congress, signal me up,” in accordance with a courtroom submitting accompanying his responsible plea.

After the riot erupted, Wooden entered the Capitol by climbing via a window. He adopted others on a path towards the Senate chamber however left the world with out getting into it.

After rioters breached a police line within the Capitol Crypt, Wooden adopted others up a staircase and into the Home Speaker’s workplace suite. He left the Capitol via a door greater than an hour after he entered the constructing, the submitting says.

[ PAST COVERAGE: Attack on the Capitol: How many defendants are from the Carolinas? ]

In a textual content message to any person a day after the riot, Wooden stated he “took a stand” however referred to as it “extraordinarily inappropriate.”

“I can’t consider I participated in such chaos,” he added.

The riot disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

Wooden was arrested in Winston Salem, North Carolina, final 12 months.

At a separate listening to on Friday, a Maryland man pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor cost stemming from the Capitol riot. Matthew Joseph Buckler is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21 after pleading responsible to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol constructing. Buckler, of La Plata, Maryland, entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 by climbing via a damaged window.

Greater than 800 individuals have been charged with federal crimes associated to the Jan. 6 riot. A minimum of 300 of them have pleaded responsible, largely to misdemeanors, and practically 200 of them have been sentenced. Roughly 100 others have trial dates.

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