Tennessee wall-climber convicted in breach of US Capitol
Jul 21, 2022, 10:12 PM | Updated: Jul 22, 2022, 10:16 am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee business owner who scaled a wall outside the U.S. Capitol has been convicted of five charges connected to the raid on Jan. 6, 2021.
Matthew Bledsoe, 38, of Olive Branch, Mississippi, was found guilty Thursday of one felony — obstruction of an official proceeding — and four misdemeanors related to the Capitol breach, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said Bledsoe was one of scores of people who forced their way into the Capitol as Congress met to certify President Joe Biden’s victory. They said he illegally entered the Capitol grounds and scaled a wall to reach a fire door on the Senate side of the building.
Bledsoe is listed in records as a principal of a Memphis, Tennessee moving company and authorities said he lived in nearby Cordova when he was arrested.
Bledsoe faces up to 20 years in prison on the felony count and up to three years on the misdemeanors at his sentencing on Oct. 21. More than 850 people have been charged with crimes related to the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
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