SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Republican activist and Jan. 6 capitol riot defendant Jorge Aaron Riley pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, making Riley the third of four area residents to accept plea deals related to the insurrection.
Riley, 45, had faced a five-count indictment that charged him with disorderly conduct, entering a restricted area and demonstrating in a Capitol building, stemming from his actions during the riot when he allegedly entered then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta set sentencing for Sept. 6.
“Obstruction of an official proceeding carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as well as potential financial penalties,” the Justice Department said in a news release following the plea. “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
Riley was arrested Jan. 19, 2021, in Sacramento after returning home following the Capitol Riot, which erupted when protesters supporting then-President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to halt the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
During the riot, Riley entered the Capitol along with other protesters, then bragged about his actions in a video interview later posted online, according to an FBI affidavit.
“We breached over there I think,” the affidavit quotes him as saying. “We broke windows, we went into the door, we pushed our way in, and then we just kept going further and further. … We went into, there was like a corridor building.
“We pushed our way to Nancy Pelosi’s office ... and then we were sitting in there yelling ‘f--- you, Nancy Pelosi.”
The FBI says Riley posted more than 150 photographs, videos and written posts online between Jan. 6 and Jan. 8, 2021, including one stating, “Hey We’re storming the Capitol. ... What are you doing?”
Riley was corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly, as well as president of its Sacramento chapter, until he was asked to resign two years ago.
Two months after his arrest, the Sacramento Republican Assembly group honored Riley for his long service on the group’s board, presenting him with a trophy and congratulating him “for serving 11 years on the executive board including being elected to 6 terms as president!”
His plea leaves Sean Michael McHugh as the only Sacramento-area resident still facing charges in the Jan. 6 riot. McHugh, who remains in custody in Washington, D.C., and faces a 10-count indictment, is scheduled to go to trial in April.
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