US federal judge finds Florida man guilty of four misdemeanor charges relating to Capitol breach News
Tyler Merbler, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
US federal judge finds Florida man guilty of four misdemeanor charges relating to Capitol breach

A US District Court for the District of Columbia judge Friday found a Florida man guilty of all four misdemeanor charges against him relating to the US Capitol breach on January 6 last year.

The US Department of Justice announced that Jesus Rivera was found guilty following a bench trial before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. The four charges include “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.”

The government alleged that Rivera “illegally crossed a perimeter set up by law enforcement officers and entered the Capitol grounds[.]” He then joined a crowd and “encouraged the mob with shouts of, ‘Come on, come on.'” The evidence against him also included videos he posted online “while on the Capitol grounds, including one in which he declared, ‘My birthday is in three days, but I’ll take it as this one. Today is my f—- birthday!'” Rivera also joined rioters outside the Senate wing door and, upon making his way into the building through a broken window, continued recording videos while he roamed the hallways. He left the Capitol after being inside for approximately 20 minutes.

Rivera was arrested in Florida on January 20 last year. He is one of many individuals who have been found guilty of charges for their actions connected to the Capitol breach.