Capitol rioter who helped himself to a lawmaker’s bottle of wine pleads guilty to theft

WASHINGTON (CN) — A New Hampshire postal worker who raided a congressperson’s refrigerator and chugged a glass of wine during the Jan. 6 insurrection pleaded guilty Thursday to theft of government property and unlawful parading or picketing. 

“[I] poured a glass of wine and watched it all unfold,” Jason Riddle told NBC10 Boston when he came out of the Capitol building, but added that, “Those psychopaths going around breaking things and hurting people can rot in hell.”

As quoted by the FBI in charging papers, Riddle also admitted to taking a Senate procedure book, which he sold to a stranger for $40. He took a small Fox News football from the same office but tossed it aside when he left the Capitol building. 

After he returned home, Riddle went through a “delete frenzy,” he told FBI agents, erasing several messages, photos and videos from his phone. 

Riddle faces up to one year in prison for the theft charge and up to six months in prison for the parading charge. 

In June, Riddle told NBC10 Boston that he decided to run for office and unseat Democrat Annie Kuster in the 2022 midterm elections. Riddle was mid-interview when he learned that Kuster was not a state representative like he had thought — rather, a U.S. congresswoman. Pivoting, Riddle told the reporter that he now plans to run for Congress, and he believes that his role in the Capitol riot will help him win. 

“In the long run, if you’re running for office, any attention is good attention,” Riddle told the station. 

Riddle isn’t the only Capitol rioter who has announced they’re running for Congress: Teddy Daniels aims to unseat Representative Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, Tina Forte is seeking to oust Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, and Derrick Van Orden has made a bid to replace Representative Ron Kind in Wisconsin. 

Riddle will be sentenced Feb. 17. 

Later on Friday, a federal judge accepted prosecutors' sentencing recommendation and ordered 30 days incarceration for Capitol rioter David Mish. The day after storming America's halls of goverment, Mish contacted the Metropolitan Police Department with information about Ashli Babbitt, who was shot during the riot. 

“Mr. Mish understood the consequences of calling the police but thought it was the right thing to do,” said U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee. “He was far from the worst offender at the Capitol.” 

Mish has had several previous criminal convictions, including sex with a child 16 or older, child abuse, bail jumping and drug possession. But, Nichols noted, most of these convictions were over 20 years old. 

Mish will serve time at a prison near his home in Wisconsin.

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