Two Pennsylvania men, Matthew and Andrew Valentin, have entered guilty pleas to felony charges connected to their involvement in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. In a statement provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the Valentin brothers, from Stroudsburg, admitted to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers during the breach, an event that interrupted the certification of 2020's electoral college results.
The older brother, Matthew Valentin, 31, copped to two counts of felony assault against law enforcement. His sibling, Andrew, 26, pled guilty to one count of the same charge and an additional count that included the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon. The sentencing for the two is scheduled for January 17, 2025. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton presides over the case.
As per the details of the charges, the Valentin brothers made a series of aggressive moves against police officers during the uprising. They were captured on video traveling from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol. After climbing down from a media tower they had ascended, they joined the crowd at the West Plaza, where they assisted in pushing a metal barrier against a police line. Matthew went on to spray a chemical irritant at officers and grapple over a baton, while later, Andrew threw a folding chair that hit an officer's shield, the public record shows.
The investigation conducted by the FBI's Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices led to the brothers' arrests in February 2024. The FBI had listed Matthew Valentin as BOLO #336 in its ongoing effort to bring to justice individuals involved in the Capitol breach. Since the incident, over 1,504 people have faced charges related to that day's violence, with more than 560 being accused of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Alerts from agencies including the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Montgomery County Police Department, have been key in these investigative efforts.
The U.S. Attorney's Office noted that the case is being prosecuted by them in partnership with the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section and with the cooperation of other Pennsylvania Districts.
