Current:Home > BackAppeals court upholds conviction of former Capitol police officer who tried to help rioter-LoTradeCoin
Appeals court upholds conviction of former Capitol police officer who tried to help rioter
View Date:2024-12-23 19:59:07
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of a former U.S. Capitol police officer who tried to help a Virginia fisherman avoid criminal charges for joining a mob’s attack on the building that his law-enforcement colleagues defended on Jan. 6, 2021.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the government’s evidence against Michael Angelo Riley “readily supports” his conviction on an obstruction charge.
Riley, a 25-year police veteran, argued that prosecutors failed to prove a grand jury proceeding was foreseeable or that he deleted his Facebook messages to affect one. The panel rejected those arguments as “flawed.”
“Riley was a veteran Capitol Police officer concededly aware of the role of grand juries in the criminal process, and his own messages showed he expected felony prosecutions of unauthorized entrants into the Capitol building on January 6,” Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote.
In October 2022, a jury convicted Riley of one count of obstruction of an official proceeding but deadlocked on a second obstruction charge. In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Riley to two years of probation and four months of home detention.
Riley, a Maryland resident, was on duty when a mob attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. That day, Riley investigated a report of an explosive device at Republican National Committee headquarters and helped an injured officer.
The following day, Riley read a Facebook post by Jacob Hiles, a fisherman he knew from YouTube videos. Hiles wrote about his own participation in the riot and posted a video of rioters clashing with police.
Riley privately messaged Hiles and identified himself as a Capitol police officer who agreed with his “political stance.”
“Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to be charged. Just looking out!” Riley wrote.
Riley deleted their private messages after Hiles told him that the FBI was “very curious” about their communications, according to prosecutors.
Hiles pleaded guilty in September 2021 to a misdemeanor charge related to the Capitol riot and was later sentenced to two years of probation.
veryGood! (34848)
Related
- Panel advises Illinois commemorate its role in helping slaves escape the South
- Humblest Christmas tree in the world sells for more than $4,000 at auction
- This AI code that detects when guns, threats appear on school cameras is available for free
- Paige DeSorbo & Hannah Berner New Year Eve's Fashion Guide to Bring That Main Character Energy in 2024
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- Rome court convicts far-right activists for storming union offices to oppose COVID vaccine passes
- American consumers are feeling much more confident as holiday shopping season peaks
- Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Are Married
- She was found dead while hitchhiking in 1974. An arrest has finally been made.
- Newest toys coming to McDonald's Happy Meals: Squishmallows
Ranking
- Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
- The Winner of The Voice Season 24 is…
- Iran summons Germany’s ambassador over Berlin accusing Tehran in a plot to attack a synagogue
- Here's why your North Face and Supreme gifts might not arrive by Christmas Day
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- Colorado Supreme Court rules Trump is disqualified from presidency for Jan. 6 riot
- States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire
- Ohio woman charged with abuse of a corpse after miscarriage. What to know about the case
Recommendation
-
Amazon launches an online discount storefront to better compete with Shein and Temu
-
Shark attacks woman walking in knee-deep water after midnight in New Zealand
-
Kylie Minogue on success and surviving cancer: I sing to process everything
-
New York man who served 37 years in prison for killing 2 men released after conviction overturned
-
NFL MVP rankings: Does Steelers QB Russell Wilson deserve any consideration?
-
What would you buy with $750 a month? For unhoused Californians, it was everything
-
Fewer drops in the bucket: Salvation Army chapters report Red Kettle donation declines
-
Jason Kelce takes blame on penalty for moving ball: 'They've been warning me of that for years'