Two men, who were active-duty Marines on Jan. 6, 2021, pleaded guilty Monday to criminal charges related to the Capitol riots, according to the Associated Press.
Joshua Abbate and Dodge Dale Halonen pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, including parading, demonstrating and picketing inside the Capitol, and reportedly will be sentenced in September. Associated Press. They will be sentenced to up to six months in prison, a year of supervised release, and fines of up to $5,000, according to CBS News. report.
Abbate and Heronen were arrested in January along with a third active-duty Marine, Mika Coomer, who pleaded guilty to the same charges in May and will be sentenced on August 30, according to the Associated Press. Coomer will reportedly become the first active-duty Marine to be convicted of involvement in the riot. Washington Post. (Related: Proud Boys leader, members convicted of seditious conspiracy in January 6 incident)
Joshua Abbate and Dodge Dale Halonen admitted to entering the Capitol during the violence. A third Marine who was with them is also awaiting sentencing. https://t.co/QBTLRPS8A2
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 13, 2023
The three reportedly broke into the Capitol “through the door of the Senate Building” around 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6, according to the Justice Department. affidavit. They then entered the rotunda and the Statuary Hall and “placed a red MAGA hat on one of the statues to take a picture,” the affidavit reads. The affidavit also included images of men inside the Capitol and social media messages.
The first active-duty officer charged in connection with the incident was Marine Corps Officer Christopher Warnagilis, and the latest was Navy Seaman David Elizalde, who was arrested on April 2. another The Associated Press reported. Warnagiris was arrested on May 13, 2021. Department of Justice press release.
More than half of the more than 1,000 people facing federal criminal charges related to January 6 have pleaded guilty. Many of the defendants are veterans, but a few are active duty military, according to the Associated Press.
