Kansas City man who spent seconds in Capitol in Jan. 6 riot pleads guilty to misdemeanor
A Kansas City man who prosecutors say spent six seconds inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Wednesday in federal court.
Angelo Pacheco, who was charged in July with four misdemeanors, pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The plea hearing was held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail, a $5,000 fine and five years’ probation. He also must pay $500 restitution for damage to the Capitol. The government says rioters caused more than $2.9 million in damage overall.
In exchange for Pacheco’s guilty plea, the government dropped the other misdemeanor charges: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Pacheco is the 23rd Missouri defendant to be convicted in a Capitol riot case. Of those, 17 have been sentenced. The cases of 11 other Missourians are ongoing.
Pacheco, 23, was arrested July 17 in Kansas City, according to court documents, 2 ½ years after the Jan. 6 breach and during a period when the massive Capitol riot investigation had picked up the pace. The number of arrests now stands at more than 1,185, on charges ranging from demonstrating in a Capitol building to seditious conspiracy.
A statement of offense signed by Pacheco says that he traveled to Washington from Kansas City to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College. After the rally, it said, he marched to the Capitol with other protesters.
While on the Capitol grounds, the statement said, Pacheco climbed scaffolding put in place for the presidential inauguration, then made his way to the Upper West Terrace of the building.
“At 2:39 p.m., Pacheco entered the Capitol building through the Upper West Terrace door,” it said. “After seeing police presence down the hallway, Pacheco turned around and exited the building through the same door approximately six seconds later.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, the FBI received a tip from someone who said that Pacheco was on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. The source did not know Pacheco, the affidavit said, but identified him by comparing photos on Pacheco’s Facebook and Instagram pages with images from that day.
An FBI agent then found social media posts showing Pacheco on the Capitol grounds and scaffolding, the affidavit said. The agent also reviewed Capitol surveillance video footage that showed Pacheco standing in the doorway on the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol around 2:37 p.m., it said.
Two minutes later, it said, he entered the building, then quickly left through the same door.
The affidavit said two FBI agents interviewed Pacheco at his home on Sept. 29, 2022. During the interview, it said, Pacheco admitted to being at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but said he did not remember entering the building.
An agent interviewed Pacheco again on May 17, 2023, the affidavit said, this time in his attorney’s office. During the interview, the agent showed Pacheco six images from social media.
“Pacheco identified himself in all six images shown to him,” the affidavit said.
And this time, the agent wrote, “He said that he remembered entering the Capitol.”
