Sacramento man guilty in Jan. 6 riots released from prison as judge weighs Supreme Court ruling
A federal judge this week ordered the prison release of a Sacramento, California, man who breached the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots, as a defense attorney sought to vacate his sentence under a recent Supreme Court decision narrowing the scope of a charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants face.
Jorge Riley, a 46-year-old Army veteran and former corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly, pleaded guilty March 7, 2023, to a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, which was the charge under question by the highest court. In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this charge should only apply to destroying or attempting to destroy “records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding,” which a defense attorney said Riley never did.
D.C. Circuit Judge Amit P. Mehta has not yet ruled on whether the motion to vacate should be granted. But Riley, who has just four months left of his 18-month sentence, will be released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc as Mehta decides if his sentence should be vacated, according to an order issued Monday by Mehta.
“Mr. Riley did not violate the law as it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court,” defense lawyer Tim Zindel wrote in his motion to vacate, while citing the Supreme Court decision, Fischer v. United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. has until Thursday to file a response. A spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday seeking information about their position on the case.
A combination of “circumstances” has made the sentence Riley served “plainly unfair” because he did not commit any violent or destructive acts, the motion said. Riley was among the first to break into the Senate; he walked around with protesters and took selfies, Zindel wrote.
Prosecutors said Riley declared, “Joe Biden IS NOT MY PRESIDENT” leading up to his trip to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. He brought six ninja combat throwing knives, declaring “I’m going to war,” according to The Sacramento Bee’s previous reporting.
