A Connecticut man facing a number of federal charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is expected to take a plea bargain.
Court papers filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said Richard Crosby Jr.’s attorney and prosecutors have reached a plea agreement.
The filing, authored by Matthew Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, did not reveal the terms of the plea deal, which was agreed upon last week. Graves asked a judge to stay the time period required for federal prosecutors to address a renewed motion filed by Crosby’s attorney, Daniel Erwin, to dismiss the first count of the indictment, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting.
Graves told a judge the need to address the motion will be moot in light of the two sides reaching a plea bargain. According to the filing, prosecutors need time to draft up the plea deal documents before Erwin and his client can review them.
Connecticut man arrested for breaking into the U.S. Capitol with Trump supporters on Jan. 6. Richard T. Crosby of Harwinton faces federal charges.
Crosby of Harwinton, who is free from custody, was arrested in June 2021 following an indictment charging him with obstruction of an official proceeding and five misdemeanors that accuse him of trespassing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, and engaging in disruptive behavior.
Crosby can be seen on video on and near the dais in the U.S. Senate chamber with about a dozen other supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. According to a police report, Crosby and the others walked in immediately after the evacuation of the senators and former Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the Senate that day.
According to federal court documents, Crosby admitted to authorities that he entered the Senate after finding an open stairway and door on the West Side of the building. He said he “followed the crowd” and ended up in the Senate chambers. He told the agents he was in the Senate for six to eight minutes.
Video appeared to show Crosby and others accepting the advice of a solitary Capitol police officer to leave. Before they did so, however, Crosby, who was wearing a red “Make American Great Again” hat, could be seen along with Jacob A. Chansley and others leading a prayer. Chansley, who is also known as Jacob Angeli and the “The QAnon Shaman,” became widely synonymous with the assault at the U.S. Capital, largely in part for the horned head dress he was wearing.
After the prayer, Crosby told the agents that additional police officers arrived and directed the group to leave, keeping their hands visible to ensure nothing was being stolen.
Crosby was located and arrested through video recordings and electronic records of his cellphone use around the Capitol. He told agents that he learned of the pro-Trump rally by social media and decided to attend because he believed the presidential election had been “stolen” from Trump and he wanted his voice heard.
Information from reporter Edmund H. Mahony was used in this article.
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