Two men who were active-duty Marines on January 6, 2021, pleaded guilty Monday to criminal charges related to the Capitol riot, the Associated Press reported.
Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and will be sentenced in September, according to the Associated Press (AP). They will be sentenced to up to six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000, CBS News reported.
Abate and Hellonen were arrested in January alongside a third active-duty Marine, Micah Coomer, who pleaded guilty to the same charge in May and will be sentenced on Aug. 30, according to the AP news report. Coomer is the first active-duty Marine convicted of involvement in the riot, according to The Washington Post. (RELATED: Proud Boys Leader, Members Convicted Of Seditious Conspiracy In Jan. 6 Case)
Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen admitted to entering the Capitol during the violence. A third Marine who was with them is also awaiting sentencing. https://t.co/QBTLRPS8A2
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 13, 2023
The three men reportedly breached the Capitol Building “through the Senate Wing Door” at about 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6, according to a Department of Justice affidavit. Thereafter, they reportedly entered the Rotunda and the Statuary Hall and “placed a red MAGA hat on one of the statues to take photos with it,” the affidavit read. The affidavit also contained alleged images of the men in the Capitol and social media messages.
The first active-duty officer to be charged in connection to the event is Marine Corps officer Christopher Warnagiris, while the latest, arrested April 2, is Navy sailor David Elizalde, according to a separate AP news report. Warnagiris was arrested May 13, 2021, per a Justice Department press release.
More than half of the over 1000 people facing Jan. 6-related federal criminal charges have pleaded guilty. Many of the accused are veterans but a few are active-duty service personnel, according the AP.