A Kansas City, Kansas, man accused of breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6 and entering a senator’s office pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a single misdemeanor count.
Kasey Von Owen Hopkins, 47, entered a guilty plea to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. His sentencing hearing was held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Are you entering this plea of guilty voluntarily and of your own free will because you are guilty?” U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan asked Hopkins.
“Yes, your honor,” Hopkins replied.
“How do you plead?” Chutkan asked. “Guilty or not guilty?”
“Guilty, your honor.”
Hopkins’ sentencing is scheduled for April 10. He faces a maximum sentence of six months’ incarceration, five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine. He also must pay $500 restitution for damage to the Capitol building and costs borne by the U.S. Capitol Police, which the government now says stands at nearly $2.9 million.
In addition, Hopkins agreed to allow authorities to review his social media accounts for statements and posts around Jan. 6, 2021, and to interview him prior to sentencing about the events of that day.
Hopkins is one of nine Kansas residents charged in connection with the Capitol riot. To date, four have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced; two, including Hopkins, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing; and the cases of three others — two Olathe Proud Boys and a Topeka man all facing felony charges — are still ongoing.
Arrested on Aug. 5, Hopkins was accused of roaming through the Capitol building, entering a U.S. senator’s office and taking a selfie in front of a bust of Winston Churchill.
He originally was charged with four misdemeanor counts: 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 dropped three of the charges in exchange for his guilty plea on the parading count.
Records from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation show that a man with the same name and address is a registered sex offender in Kansas. Online court records show the man pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2003, to forcible rape, forcible sodomy, domestic assault and felonious restraint involving a July 25, 2002, incident in St. Louis. He received a seven-year prison sentence.
A “statement of offense” signed by Hopkins on Dec. 13 said he flew to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021. The next day, it said, he listened to former President Donald Trump’s speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally, then marched to the Capitol building.
Hopkins entered the Capitol through a fire door near the Senate parliamentarian’s office at about 2:54 p.m. and exited three minutes later after walking down a hall and looking into the office, the document said. At about 3:06 p.m., it said, he entered the building again, this time through the Senate Wing Door.
“He walked into the office of Senator Jeffrey Merkley (an Oregon Democrat), where he observed an individual smoking marijuana inside the office as well as other rioters ransacking the office,” according to the document.
An image taken from Capitol surveillance video shows Hopkins standing in the office next to a protester who is leaning back in a chair with his feet on a desk.
Hopkins exited the Capitol about nine minutes later through the same door he entered, the document said.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Chutkan questioned Hopkins about the details in the statement of offense.
“Have you gone over the statement of offense with your lawyer?” she asked Hopkins. “And have you read it?”
“We’ve read it together,” he said.
“And is that your signature on the last page, on the 13th of December?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“And by signing it, would you agree that the statement of offense is true?”
“I do.”
“All of it?” Chutkan asked.
“All of it.”
To date, almost 900 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the U.S. Capitol breach, according to the Justice Department. Those arrests include more than 265 people who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
