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January 6 Capitol Riot Defendant Found Not Guilty After Testifying Police Let Him Into The Building

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On Wednesday, a federal judge found the January 6 Capitol Riot defendant (who claimed that police permitted him to enter Capitol during the riot) not guilty.

This marks the first time that a defendant has been acquitted in a case related to last year’s riot.

Matthew Martin was a New Mexico-based former contractor to the government. He admitted entering but said that two Capitol Police officers let him in through a window.

For the most part, Judge Trevor N. McFadden agreed, suggesting Martin “reasonably believed” that police officers were allowing the crowd in and found him not guilty of each of the four misdemeanors he had been charged with.

RELATED : Federal Prosecutors Confirm to Violing Legal Rights Of Capitol River Defendant. Request that Charges be Dismissed

January 6: Defendant Not Guilty

McFadden, appointed as District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 2017 by former President Donald Trump, suggested Martin’s behavior was “minimal and non-serious” and that he appeared to be a “silent observer.”

The New York Times points out that an acquittal for a minor part in the Riot and any associated low-level accusations could encourage others to face charges by going to trial, rather than simply pleading.

Over 200 individuals pleaded guilty in connection to the Jan 6th riot before this decision. There are hundreds more cases like these.

Matthew Martin described the events of January 6 as a “magical day.”

“It was beautiful. I will remember today for the rest of my life,” he wrote in a text message to his supervisor later in the day.

Martin would be fired from his job at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration where he worked as a senior engineer after being charged.

But, Martin insisted that he didn’t do much of anything while he was inside the Capitol, a claim made by many charged with similar offenses.

CBS notes that video evidence backs up his claims: “Martin’s movements on January 6 were documented using CCTV footage from inside the Capitol and data, including video, from his own cell phone. Martin was not charged in connection with any of the violence seen on January 6 and was not found to be a member of any extremist groups.”

Video played at the trial, according to the Daily Mail, “appeared to show an officer moving his arm in a waving motion inside the building as the rioters moved past them.”

RELATED: Judge Slams DOJ For ‘Trampling’ Rights Of Capitol Riot Defendant – ‘No Excuse To Treat A Human Being Like That’

Human Rights Violations

Federal prosecutors last month, in what was described as a “rare mistake,” admitted to violating the legal rights of a Capitol riot defendant and asked a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him.

At issue was the right to a speedy trial for Lucas Denney of Texas, which lawyers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office admit was violated in his case.

Denney, whose charges were more egregious than those of Matthew Martin, was detained in December without bail but wasn’t transferred to Washington for six weeks.

Once there, according to a Politico report, nobody contacted the D.C. court to get a hearing for Denney for over three weeks.

A federal judge slammed the Justice Department for “trampling” Denney’s rights.

He later pleaded guilty to a charge of felony assault.

In the Capitol Riot, more than 775 individuals were charged. At least two other defendants according to the Justice Department’s log remain held without bond.

Nicholas James Brockhoff was arrested in May of 2021 and pled not guilty in early September, while Ryan Samsel was arrested on January 30, 2021, but wasn’t indicted until August.

The New York Times explains that other judges are not bound by Judge McFadden’s analysis of Matthew Martin’s claims about the police.

But the latest ruling allows other January 6 defendants to consider going to trial to test the government’s cases against them rather than simply pleading guilty to misdemeanors in an attempt to move on with their lives.