Jan. 6 rioter claims he caught a case of 'Trump crazies' that drove him to smash Capitol window

An accused Jan. 6 rioter says he caught a case of the "crazies" from Donald Trump.

A friend of Troy Faulkner, who smashed a window at the U.S. Capitol while wearing a jacket that showed his last name and telephone number, wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency in his sentence.

"I abhor what happened on January 6, 2021 and I abhor Mr. Faulkner's behavior on that day when he got a case of 'the Trump crazies,' as he told me," wrote Diane Strausser, who had hired the painter to work on her home in the past. "I also know that mob behavior often leads to emotional decisions that are influenced by the out-of-control crowd and are not the rational decisions one makes on their own."

IN OTHER NEWS: Trump parrots ‘crazy’ Paul Pelosi conspiracy theories: ‘The glass was broken from the inside to the out’

"I absolutely believe Mr. Faulkner was in an altered emotional state when he joined the insurrectionists in their unprecedented attack," she added.

The 41-year-old Faulkner, of Whitehall, Ohio, pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of destruction of government property.

Video shows him jumping onto a window ledge and using his left foot to kick in two lower panes.