Washington D.C. – Grimy Times:
Two brothers from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty on September 26, 2024, to multiple felony charges stemming from their conduct during the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Matthew Valentin, 31, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Andrew Valentin, 26, also of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and a second felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton will sentence the two on January 17, 2025. According to court documents, the two brothers traveled to Washington, D.C., from Pennsylvania, and were identified in an open-source video on January 6, 2021, walking from the Washington Monument along Constitution Avenue towards the U.S. Capitol building.
The brothers eventually made their way to the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds and climbed a media tower in the area. They then climbed down from the tower and joined a large crowd that had amassed on the West Plaza. There, U.S. Capitol Police had formed a protective line behind bike rack barricades. At approximately 2:29 p.m., the brothers, along with the crowd, rushed the police line while rioters yelled, ‘push, push, push.’
Matthew Valentin then pushed a metal barricade into a line of Capitol Police officers. The officers retreated and formed a new protective line on the south side of the West Plaza. Court documents say that Matthew Valentin then approached the line and sprayed a chemical irritant towards the officers. The brothers then moved from the Lower West Terrace to the Upper West Terrace, arriving at approximately 2:50 p.m.
There, a group of Metropolitan Police Officers, were assisting Capitol Police Officers, and had formed a protective line. At about 3:30 p.m., members of the crowd, including Matthew Valentin, rushed the line of officers. Matthew grabbed a police baton and attempted to tear the baton out of that officer’s hands. Later, at approximately 5:12 p.m., a group of Montgomery County Police Officers, who were then assisting U.S. Capitol Police Officers, had formed a protective line in front of a set of stairs leading from the West Plaza to the Upper West Terrace.
Andrew Valentin threw a folding chair at the line of officers, striking one officer’s shield. The FBI arrested the brothers on February 11-12, 2024, in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices are investigating this case.
More than 1,504 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 560 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Related Federal Cases
- Justin Jersey, Assault on Capitol Police, Michigan 2021 · Pennsylvania
- Jonathan Grace, Capitol Riot Assault, Colorado, 2021 · Pennsylvania
- Dean Robert Harshman, Capitol Riot Breach, Washington D.C., 2021 · Pennsylvania
- Timothy Desjardins, Capitol Assault with Weapon, RI 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Gregory Yetman, Capitol Assault, New Jersey 2021 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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