The U.S. Attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., has announced a guilty plea in a stranger set of criminal proceedings stemming from the Capitol riot in early 2021 spurred by lies tracing to ex-President Donald Trump of a stolen election — lies he still tells.
The feds said that defendant Matthew Honigford claimed outside the Capitol he was simply trying to “pray” for officers defending the premises as he repeatedly reached out and tried to make physical contact with law enforcement personnel. Even fellow Capitol riot participants admonished Honigford to stop, prosecutors’ press release added on Wednesday. Mere moments afterwards, Honigford kicked a metal bike rack towards police after earlier using a metal flag pole that he was carrying to similarly confront law enforcement, pushing it into an officer’s chest, prosecutors said.
Honigford was reportedly also among those attending the large rally held in Washington, D.C., that day where then-outgoing President Trump advanced his election conspiracy theories. The purported attempt at prayer and follow-up bike rack incident took place about 30 minutes after Capitol rioters first breached the Capitol building itself.
The bike racks that originally established a perimeter at the Capitol complex were part of the wide range of weapons both makeshift and pre-planned used against police. Rioters repeatedly used officers’ own implements against police lines, taking riot shields, chemical irritants, and batons, besides pushing for more.
Honigford pleaded guilty to a felony criminal offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police, which will evidently leave him with a maximum sentence under the law of at least eight years if not something greater. Rioters facing more serious charges including this assault charge and obstruction of an official proceeding have routinely received sentences reaching years in length. Honigford’s sentencing, scheduled for later this year, is being handled by frequently discussed federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
