MAGA rioter who wept in court faces up to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting cops

A New York man who boasted to his aunt about fighting and macing police officers at the January 6 riot has pleaded guilty.

Cody Mattice, 29, of Rochester, N.Y., pleaded guilty Friday to a count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers on Jan. 6 – a felony charge with a recommended sentencing range of 37-46 months in prison and up to three years of supervised release afterward, WUSA9-TV reported. The two sides agreed to the sentencing range -- which is below the eight years’ maximum punishment for the offense -- but a judge is not bound by the agreement.

Mattice entered the plea via teleconference before D.C. District Court Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell from the facility in which he is being held. Also pleading to the same charge -- but in attendance in his orange prison jumpsuit -- was James Mault, 30, a friend of Mattice from Rochester with whom he participated in the riot. Mault had drawn attention for having joined the U.S. Army after taking part in the insurrection.

The two men were shown on video having pulled down barricades, attacking multiple police officers as part of a mob surging forward and having sprayed officers with chemical agents. And the judge took note that the defendants’ participation had not been spontaneous:

“Howell read several text messages between the two, detailing their plans to travel to Washington, D.C. together in early January with others, bringing pepper spray, baton, and "a**-kicking boots," WHAM, a Rochester TV station reported.

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It was not the first time Mattice had to listen in court to incriminating texts he had sent. Last October, there had been this:

“Mattice sent out a text message to his aunt, Rebecca Evert, in which he boasted of his exploits in fighting with law enforcement officers at the Capitol. Specifically, Mattice informed Evert via a text message that he and his allies "fought off like 4 or 5 cops and stand f*cking victorious." Mattice then told Evert that he "also maced a cop."

"Awesomeness!" Evert replied. "I'm trying to find you in the breach videos... what are you wearing?"

As previously reported at Raw Story, Mattice and Mault were not identified in court as members of an extremist group but derived esteem from having fought alongside them.

“It was dope, and James had everyone hyped bro,” Mattice texted another person at 7:44 p.m. on Jan. 6, according to the government. “Even the Proud Boys were thanking us. Legit, bro, it feels like a f*ckin movie."

But by the time Mattice was in court facing up to 20 years in prison, that tone had changed, as reported here.

“Cody Mattice sat quietly weeping in court Tuesday, his head down, resting on the table in front of him, only lifting it to whisper to his attorney.”

You can read the FBI complaint here.