According to CBSÂ reporter Scott MacFarland, who has been covering sentencing of the defendants stemming from the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, federal prosecutors are seeking nearly two years in prison for an aspiring rapper from Virginia who entered the Capitol that day.
“[Antionne] BRODNAX identified himself by date of birth and social security number, and admitted to the agents that he entered the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021,” a probable cause statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says. “BRODNAX also provided the following additional information. BRODNAX said he had traveled to Washington, D.C., prior to January 6, 2021, to shoot a music video. On January 6, 2021, BRODNAX saw a rally of which many participants descended on the U.S. Capitol Building. BRODNAX followed the crowd to the United States Capitol Building and entered the building after United States Capitol Police (USCP) moved the gates that blockaded the door.”
Despite the fact that Brodnax was not in Washington to protest the results of the 2020 election, and despite the fact that the probable cause document says he “entered the United States Capitol Building peacefully,” MacFarland says prosecutors are seeking a 21-month prison sentence.
“BRODNAX did not enter any office, nor chambers, and did not engage in violence nor theft,” the FBI document says. “BRODNAX described his immediate vicinity in the United States Capitol Building as nonviolent.”
Brodnax was captured on video taking photographs of himself inside the building, footage that was eventually obtained by CNN. He also posted a photo of himself to his Instagram account sitting on the statue of Norman Borlaug in the building’s Statuary Hall.
The FBI also added to its report a photo of Brodnax sitting on a the hood of a SWAT vehicle parked outside of the building, smoking a cigar.
“Your affiant submits there is also probable cause to believe that Antionne DeShaun BRODNAX violated 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) and (G), which make it a crime to engage in disorderly conduct in the Capitol Buildings, and to parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol Buildings,” the document concludes.
According to separate charging documents, he was charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § l 752(a)(2), which prohibits “disorderly conduct in any restricted building or grounds,” and violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2) which prohibits “violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.”
He pled guilty to the charges in December. He is one of 769 defendants charged stemming from the protest.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Capitol riots” by Tyler Merbler CC BY 2.0.
