One of the Jan. 6 defendants was acquitted on Wednesday after he brought evidence that police allowed him into the Capitol building.
QUICK FACTS:
- U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden found Jan 6 defendant Matthew Martin not guilty on Wednesday.
- Martin argued that police let him into the Capitol during his two-day bench trial, according to The Washington Examiner.
- Prosecutors argued Martin should have known better and that there was “CLOSED” signage that the defendant proceeded past during his entry into the building.
- The defendant said he entered the building under the belief that he had permission from police to do so, Buzzfeed News reported.
- Martin said during his trial that if he had to do it over he would have stayed away from the Capitol building.
MARTIN’S COMMENTS:
“I saw no violence,” Martin said of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot during the trial. “I enjoyed everything else. I enjoyed the rally. It’s hard for me to say I regret coming to Washington, D.C.,” Martin said, according to the outlet.
BACKGROUND:
- The same judge found “Cowboys for Trump” co-founder Couy Griffin, guilty on March 17 on charges that he illegally entered the Capitol grounds.
- In another case, a grand jury found Guy Wesley Reffitt guilty on March 8 on two counts of civil disorder and another count relating to the obstruction of an official proceeding as well as remaining in a restricted building with a firearm.
