WASHINGTON (CN) — An Idaho man who assaulted police officers with a PVC pipe during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot pleaded guilty to two felonies Tuesday and now faces 41 to 51 months in prison.
Duke Edward Wilson, 67, sporting a “CNN fake news” hat, joined a group of rioters who pushed their way through law enforcement officers to enter the U.S. Capitol through the lower West Terrace tunnel entrance, according to court documents.
As he attempted to push through the door, Wilson was sprayed with tear gas before he took a long PVC and jabbed it at officers, and eventually threw it at them.
An affidavit from the FBI, which obtained surveillance footage that was posted on YouTube, noted that while Wilson was in the tunnel, he assisted other rioters in taking shields away from law enforcement, and pushed two officers to the ground.
Wilson pleaded guilty to two felonies: assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon and obstructing an official proceeding, which carry a maximum prison sentence of eight years and 20 years, respectively.
But the Justice Department is only recommending a sentence of about four years for Wilson, and isn’t asking for him to be detained while he awaits sentencing.
During Tuesday’s plea agreement hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth noted that the PVC pipe isn’t considered a weapon by statute.
“He has been in compliance with the pretrial services conditions,” Wilson’s attorney Charles Peterson told Lamberth. “I’ve found him to be sincere and honest, and he has shown up every time I’ve asked him to show up.”
Peterson mentioned that Wilson, who has worked on oil pipelines throughout his career, has a strong support system in Nampa, Idaho, and doesn’t have any criminal history with the exception of a DUI in 2010.
“There has been nothing that should make us believe that his status should change,” said attorney Christopher Tortorice, representing the government.
Wilson is only the third Capitol rioter to plead guilty to assaulting a police officer following Scott Kevin Fairlamb and Devlyn Thompson. Fairlamb, a New Jersey gym owner and mixed martial artist with a history of punching people in the face, accepted a plea deal for up to 51 months in prison after punching a police officer in the face during the riot. Thompson, from Washington, faces up to 4 ¾ years in prison after he assaulted an officer with a baton.
Wilson’s sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 22.
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