Idaho man accused of attacking police in U.S. Capitol riot pleads guilty

Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

REUTERS

An Idaho man accused of attacking police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot on Tuesday entered guilty pleas to two riot-related criminal charges.

Duke Wilson, 67, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington to charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding police and to obstructing an official proceeding.

The felony obstruction charge carries a 20-year maximum prison term but defense lawyer Charles Peterson said sentencing guidelines indicated Wilson, who presently is on bail, could face a term of between 41 and 51 months in prison. Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth set a sentencing hearing for November.

Nearly 600 people have been arrested over the attack on the Capitol where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden's November election victory over then-President Donald Trump. Earlier Trump had given a fiery speech falsely claiming his defeat was the result of fraud.

An FBI affidavit outlining the case for Wilson's arrest said that video recorded during the riot showed Wilson entering a Capitol tunnel as rioters pushed against "law enforcement officers in an attempt to gain entry into the building."

The FBI said rioters appeared to spray irritating liquids at police while pushing on officers' shields. As officers tried to close a set of double doors, the FBI reported, Wilson grabbed and tried to pull the door open.

After being sprayed by officers, the FBI said Wilson "picked up a several foot long white cylindrical object, believed to be a thin polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe," which he then tossed at police.

The FBI said the video then showed Wilson appearing to help other rioters pull a shield away from the officers, and then pushed two officers to the ground.

At another court hearing on Tuesday, a federal prosecutor told U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden that plea bargain discussions were under way for Matthew Council, a resident of the Tampa Bay, Florida area who also faces multiple Jan. 6 riot-related charges.

Reporting by Mark Hosenball; editing by Grant McCool