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Self-described 'loudmouth' Capitol rioter gets 'buried by evidence' when he takes the stand at trial: report
July 21, 2022 1:13PM ET
Matthew Bledsoe (Photo via United States Department of Justice)
An accused Capitol rioter who in the past has openly described himself as a "loudmouth" reportedly had a difficult day in court when he decided to take the stand at his trial.
As described by NBC News' Ryan Reilly, January 6 defendant Matthew Bledsoe got "buried by the evidence he generated" when he tried to defend himself in court on Thursday.
Bledsoe, who is facing a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and multiple misdemeanor charges related to the January 6 riots, tried to argue that he had no idea that Congress had been in session to certify President Joe Biden's electoral victory when he illegally entered the Capitol.
Prosecutors made quick work of this claim, however, as NBC News reports they demonstrated that he had "received updates from his wife and brother about congressional proceedings inside the Capitol on the day of the riot," and that he had also attended former President Donald Trump's speech at the "Stop the Steal" rally in which he mentioned Congress would be certifying the results of the election.
Prosecutors also confronted Bledsoe with texts he sent to his wife saying that it was "good" that bombs had been planted near the Capitol, and also a message in which he boasted that he "stormed the Capitol."
In both cases, Bledsoe tried to argue that he didn't really mean the things that he was saying in his own messages.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Carter, however, said that Bledsoe's words clearly showed that he knew what he was doing was wrong.
"You do not 'storm' somewhere you have a right to be. I don't 'storm' my friend's house when I go over for dinner," Carter said. "He said he stormed the Capitol, and he meant it."
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