Capitol rioter from Idaho pleads guilty to assaulting police
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho – An Idaho man pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaulting police in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Duke Edward Wilson pleaded guilty Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees; and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, The Idaho Statesman reported.
The 67-year-old Nampa resident originally faced several felonies. Wilson admitted to hitting at least one U.S. Capitol officer with his fist, as well as hitting at least one officer with a pole, court documents show.
Charging documents included photos of Wilson wearing a baseball cap that read “CNN Fake News” and his face covered in pepper spray during the insurrection. The documents also refer to videos that show Wilson grabbing a PVC pipe and jabbing police officers with it before tossing it.
Wilson was pictured while attempting to push past a wall of police as he and other supporters of former President Donald Trump worked to gain access to the U.S. Capitol. Investigators said Wilson helped other rioters pull a shield away from police and push two officers to the ground.
The deadly siege happened the day Congress was certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump. Rioters destroyed Capitol property and caused the evacuation of the Senate chamber, temporarily delaying the certification of the election results.
In April, Wilson was arrested by Salt Lake City, Utah-based FBI agents.
On Tuesday, Senior District Judge Royce Lamberth told Wilson that while entering guilty pleas may have been difficult, they were a step forward. His next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22.
The criminal counts carry a maximum of more than 28 years in prison. Wilson could also face fines of up to $500,000. He remains free pending sentencing.
Five Idaho residents have been arrested and charged in connection with the the Capitol riot. Wilson is the second to plead guilty. Ada County resident Josiah Colt – photographed jumping onto the floor of the U.S. Senate during the attack – pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding in July and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.
More than 570 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 170 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Five officers who were at the Capitol that day have died, four of them by suicide.
The investigation remains ongoing.