WASHINGTON — A Maryland man faces more than three years in prison as part of a plea deal entered into Wednesday for assaulting police during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Matthew Miller, 23, of Howard County, appeared before U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss to plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting police – both felony charges. As part of his deal, the Justice Department agreed to drop four other felony charges against him and not to apply a dangerous weapon enhancement to the assault charge.
Because Miller has no criminal history, he’ll face a recommended sentencing guideline of 41-51 months in prison. In November, another federal judge sentenced a Capitol riot defendant who pleaded guilty to the same charges, Scott Fairlamb, to 41 months behind bars.
In charging documents, prosecutors said Miller – dressed in a black cowboy hat, a Washington Capitals jersey and both a Gadsden and Maryland state flag – can be seen using crowd control barriers to scale walls on the west side of the Capitol plaza on Jan. 6. Other images show him throwing unidentified objects at police defending an entrance to the building before assaulting them with a fire extinguisher.
A sentencing date for Miller was set for May 23 in Washington, D.C. Moss ordered him to self-surrender to authorities within 14 days.
Miller is the second Capitol riot defendant from Maryland to be sentenced this week. On Monday, another federal judge sentenced Nicole Prado, of Gaithersburg, to a curfew and probation for entering the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6. Prado, who was unknowingly pregnant on Jan. 6, pleaded guilty in November to one misdemeanor count of parading.
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