WASHINGTON (CN) — A Massachusetts man famously photographed at the Capitol riot alongside the infamous QAnon shaman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Thursday, nine months after he first told FBI investigators that it was not Trump supporters but "antifa" who stormed the halls of government.
The claim disproven by every piece of footage from the well-documented attempted coup appears in the Feb. 3 criminal complaint against Brian McCreary, 34.
Indeed McCreary was photographed inside the Capitol next to Jacob Chansley, infamously known as the QAnon shaman, whose painted face and furry, horned headdress went viral in days following the riot. McCreary’s co-worker posted the photo to Twitter with the caption, “This man, with the glasses and mask, is Brian McCreary, my coworker from Domino’s Pizza. #Capitol Riot.”
McCreary was fired from Domino’s shortly after.
This morning he accepted a misdemeanor plea of entering or remaining in a restricted building — a charge that carries a maximum of one year in prison, but sentencing guidelines of zero to six months.
During his hearing, U.S. Chief Judge Beryl Howell said McCreary provided eight video clips to the FBI that documented the violent mob, one video even capturing the rioters who chased Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman.
“When you were filming, did you hear — as captured on video — ‘where are they counting the fucking votes?’” Howell asked, attempting to have McCreary confirm what he did at each step inside the Capitol.
“A lot of people were yelling, your honor,” McCreary replied. “I was trying to capture what was happening.”
McCreary admitted to following the mob, and said that he should have known that he wasn’t supposed to be there.
“I realized upon reflection that that should have been obvious to me,” McCreary said.
Two other Jan. 6 defendants accepted plea deals from the government on Thursday, bringing their charges down to a single misdemeanor and upping the total guilty plea count up to 103.
Jacob Wiedrich, of Utah, pleaded guilty to unlawful picketing in a Capitol building, which holds up to six months in prison.
According to the complaint against him, Wiedrich screamed and taunted police officers while on the perimeter of a mob inside the Capitol. At one point, Wiedrich was so confrontational that another member of the mob had to physically restrain him.
“We ride for Trump, we die for Trump,” Wiedrich yelled in a video he posted on Snapchat.
“It's not my proudest moment, but it did happen,” Wiedrich told U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan.
Jeffrey Register, a Florida man who wore a “God, Guns, and Trump,” sweatshirt, also pleaded guilty Thursday to unlawful picketing. Register, who ran past police to try to get into the House Chamber, later deleted photos from his photo and “factory reset” it to try to get rid of evidence.
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