The Department of Justice
- A New York man pleaded guilty to 10 charges related to the Capitol riot despite having no plea deal in place.
- Greg Rubenacker faces several years in prison after pleading guilty to 3 felonies and 7 misdemeanors.
- Prosecutors say Rubenacker assaulted police officers with a water bottle while inside the Capitol.
A New York man who assaulted police officers inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, pleaded guilty to 10 counts related to his participation in the insurrection.
Greg Rubenacker, 26, entered a guilty plea in court last Friday, despite having no plea agreement in place with federal prosecutors, according to the Justice Department. The charges against him include assaulting police officers, civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding, and committing an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
The DJ faces several years in prison after pleading guilty to seven misdemeanors and three felonies. The obstruction charge carries a possible 20-year maximum sentence, while the assault charge could tack on another eight years in addition to potential fines.
Prosecutors say Rubenacker entered the Capitol multiple times on January 6, 2021. According to court documents, he recorded a video of himself inside the building, in which he said, “This is history! We took the Capitol.” After initially leaving the building, Rubenacker later returned through the Rotunda Doors, court records say.
While inside the Rotunda, prosecutors say Rubenacker smoked marijuana and recorded a video of himself, which he later posted to social media with the caption, “Smoke out the Capitol, baby.”
Rubenacker was later part of a group that resisted police officers who were trying to remove people from the Capitol, according to charging documents. Prosecutors say he swung a plastic bottle at an officer’s head and then sprayed water from the bottle across a line of law enforcement officers. Officers eventually deployed pepper spray against the rioters, including Rubenacker, according to court records.
He was arrested in February 2021 in Famingdale, New York.
An attorney for Rubenacker told Chief Judge Beryl Howell on Friday that the legal team rejected a plea offer from the government for the two most serious counts — assaulting police and obstruction — because they believed the Department of Justice improperly enhanced one of the charges that would significantly increase his client’s offense level, WUSA reported.
If Howell agrees with Rubenacker’s legal team, his recommended sentencing range could be lowered from 41-51 months to 24-30 months, according to WUSA.
Rubenacker is set to be sentenced in May, and he is allowed to remain on release until sentencing.
An attorney for Rubenacker did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
More than 770 people have been arrested in connection with the riot and 212 people have pleaded guilty.
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