Tennessee Man Gets 4 Years in Prison For Breaking Into Capitol During Jan. 6 Breach

A large group of protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

A man from Memphis, Tennessee, has been sentenced to four years in prison for misdemeanor and felony offenses related to his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach incident.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Matthew Bledsoe, 38, attended a rally near the Ellipse and subsequently headed over to the Capitol. After 2:13 p.m., he entered the Capitol grounds. Bledsoe then moved to the Capitol Building, scaled a wall at the Upper Northwest Terrace, and entered through a fire door at the Senate Wing.

“Among other things, he yelled, ‘In the Capitol. This is our house. We pay for this [expletive]. Where’s those pieces of [expletive] at?’ He climbed a statue and was outside the corridor to the House Chamber and hallways near the Speaker’s Lobby,” according to an Oct. 21 press release from the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Bledsoe spent roughly 22 minutes inside and left the Capitol building at around 2:47 p.m. Within two hours, he came back and lingered outside the East Rotunda Doors.

Bledsoe was arrested on Jan. 13, 2021. On July 21 this year, he was found guilty by a jury in the District of Columbia of one felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding.

He was also deemed guilty of four misdemeanor offenses, including (a) disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, (b) entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, (c) disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building, and (d) parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.

Bledsoe was sentenced to a 48-month prison term, following which he will be put on supervised release for three years. In addition, he must also pay $2,000 in restitution and $2,000 in fines.

Court Proceedings

At the court, Bledsoe claimed that he was not aware that Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election when he entered the Capitol building. He pleaded not guilty to all charges laid against him.

Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell dismissed his claims, insisting that Bledsoe “knew what was going on,” NBC reported.

The government had asked for 70 months in prison. But the judge refused the request saying that a 70-month prison term would create a sentencing disparity with other Jan. 6 lawsuits.

Bledsoe apologized for “letting my emotions get the best of me” on that day.

“It’s hard to reconcile the image of you today, Mr. Bledsoe, with the image of you on that tape,” Howell said.

In the 21 months since the Jan. 6 breach, over 880 individuals from almost 50 states have been arrested, including more than 270 people who are charged with impeding or assaulting law enforcement.

Around 3,000 people are estimated to have entered the Capitol or assaulted law enforcement officials on Jan. 6. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Carter told the judge that the DoJ might eventually bring charges against 2,000 individuals.