Capitol Rioter Andrew Ryan Bennett Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor In Massive January 6 Riot Investigation; He Live Streamed Shooting Death Of Ashli Babbitt
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- More than six months after the chaos at the US Capitol, Andrew Ryan Bennett, one of the Marylanders charged by the federal government, has agreed to plead guilty.
Bennett's plea is to a misdemeanor for unlawful demonstration at the Capitol. He faces a maximum of six months behind bars and up to $5,000 in fines.
He already agreed to pay $500 to the U.S. Treasury for damage to the building.
Andrew Bennett of Columbia, who entered a guilty plea to 1 misdemeanor count in #CapitolRiot case, wore Proud Boys hat and chanted 'Break it down' outside Speaker's lobby (near where woman was later shot and killed) according to prosecutors. He could get max 6 months. @wjz
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) July 22, 2021
Bennett's plea is to a misdemeanor for unlawful demonstration at the Capitol. He faces a maximum of six months behind bars and up to $5,000 in fines.
He already agreed to pay $500 to the U.S. Treasury for damage to the building.
Bennett said little beyond "yes" and "no" during his virtual hearing Thursday as the judge asked him questions.
Capitol riot defendant tells judge this morning he will plead guilty in case; Andrew Ryan Bennett is from Columbia, Howard County https://t.co/lTMP8LVTEq @wjz
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) July 22, 2021
Federal prosecutors said Bennett, from Columbia, Howard County, wrote on Facebook, "You better be ready. Chaos is coming, and I will be in DC on 1/6/2021 fighting for my freedom!"
He live-streamed himself several times while at the Capitol on January 6 including as he entered with hundreds of others.
Once inside, the FBI said Bennett chanted "Break it down!" outside the doors to the Speaker's Lobby where Ashli Babbitt was later shot and killed.
In court records WJZ obtained, the government said Bennett wore a hat "with the letters FAFO, an abbreviation of a slogan popular among the Proud Boys, a far-right group. There is no evidence Bennett was violent or destructive on the grounds of or inside the Capitol."
The government said Bennett is being cooperative with their investigation.
As more defendants move through the court system, some are seeing prison sentences and charges reduced if they plead guilty and accept responsibility.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been at odds this week over whether some loyalists to former President Trump should be included in a committee investigating the insurrection.
Prosecutors have called the cases "unprecedented" in scale, and the government said in a March court filing that the Capitol attack "is likely the most complex investigation ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice."
Of the more than 535 defendants who have been arrested in connection with the riots, CBS News has reviewed court documents for 525 defendants' cases that have been unsealed. Of those, at least 204 defendants were also indicted by grand juries.
So far, at least 20 defendants have pleaded guilty. At least seven defendants, including four Oath Keepers, have agreed to cooperate with the government. At least 14 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors only, while two have pleaded guilty to single counts of felony obstruction.
One defendant has been sentenced to eight months in prison for a felony and two defendants have been sentenced for misdemeanor charges: Anna Morgan-Lloyd was sentenced to three years probation and no jail time, and Michael Curzio was sentenced to six months imprisonment, although the courts credited him for the approximately six months he had already spent incarcerated as he waited for the courts to hear his case.
For others, plea negotiations have been complicated by the vast amounts of evidence involved in the investigation.