2 years later: An update on Western Pennsylvania Capitol riot cases

A South Fayette man who has been in custody for nearly two years is expected to plead guilty on Monday to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Jorden Mink, 29, will join nearly 500 other defendants from across the country who have pleaded guilty to federal charges for their actions that day.

Harry Litman, a former U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh and deputy assistant attorney general, said that the Capitol riot case is the biggest single series of prosecutions in the history of the Department of Justice.

“They have done mammoth work,” he said.

But, Litman, who teaches constitutional law at UCLA, said a full assessment is not yet possible until those who planned and organized the attack — up to and including former President Donald Trump — are charged.

“The short answer is, we just don’t know yet,” he said.

The Justice Department won’t file charges against Trump regarding the riot unless the evidence is certain and beyond a reasonable doubt, Litman said.

“Absent real serious charges and convictions, there’s a failure of full accountability.”

Federal prosecutors typically work their way up in a criminal case, which Litman said, is what’s been happening in the riot case.

In total, two years after the attack, more than 950 people have been arrested from nearly all 50 states, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.

Of those, nearly 100 were charged with using a dangerous or deadly weapon against an officer or causing serious bodily injury. The government noted that about 140 officers were assaulted that day.

Of the people thus far charged, more than half — 484 — have pleaded guilty; 40 have gone to trial.

So far, 351 people have been sentenced, and of those, nearly 200 received periods of incarceration.

Mink is one of 74 people from Pennsylvania who have been charged in the Capitol attack, including about 20 from Western Pennsylvania, according to USA Today, which has tracked each case. He is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

Mink is charged with 10 counts and is accused of using a baseball bat to break windows in the Capitol building — slamming it repeatedly until two windows broke. Investigators said Mink also wielded a flagpole at Capitol police officers and spat at them.

Two years after the riot, Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at Saint Vincent College, said that Justice Department has put an enormous amount of resources into the Capitol riot cases.

“This would have been an absolute logistical nightmare for a court system,” he said.

It’s impossible to assess the Capitol riot cases without first understanding the political viewpoint of the person reviewing them, Antkowiak said. For people who support Trump, he said, they have a much different perspective than those who oppose him.

“That’s what makes assessing this whole thing so damn difficult,” he said. “It’s hard to separate it out as a judicial prosecution extraneous of political consideration.

“The political considerations are inextricably intertwined.”

Typically, Antkowiak said, the criminal justice system responds to crime and the harm that specifically results from that crime.

“They don’t look at broader, sociological implications,” he said. “In this case, those broader solutions are political — what should be the political course of the country?”

He suggested that wrapping up the prosecutions long before the 2024 election would go a long way to restoring faith in our voting systems.

“I have a feeling those in the court system will be mightily glad when the last of these cases concludes.”

Western Pa. connection

The defendants from Western Pennsylvania include:

Pauline Bauer is scheduled for a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden on Jan. 19.

Her co-defendant, William Blauser Jr., 75, of Ludlow, McKean County, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building. He was ordered to pay a $500 fine and $500 in restitution.

He told the court he regretted his actions that day.

“If I had a chance to redeem myself, I would certainly do that in a heartbeat. All I can do is sincerely apologize to my country and the court for my actions.”

Samuel Christopher Fox, 32, of Mt. Pleasant, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of parading and was ordered to serve three years probation, with the first two months on house arrest. He also was ordered to pay $500 in restitution.

Fox was only inside the U.S. Capitol for two minutes and was not accused of any act of violence or theft.

In a letter he wrote to government prosecutors, Fox called Jan. 6, 2021, “one of the most tragic days in American history.” He also said his action “have been a deep source of pain and regret.”

Kenneth Grayson, 53, pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder and was ordered to serve two months of incarceration.

He was accused of entering the Capitol through the Senate Wing Doors and using his cellphone to livestream from inside.

The government said he twice tried to push past a line of officers. He stayed inside the building for 47 minutes.

Grayson spent 22 months on restrictive, electronic monitoring prior to his sentencing in December.

“Entering the Capitol was an egregious error that I will spend years regretting and want to say to you that I am truly sorry and do apologize,” he wrote in a letter to the court.

Jennifer Heinl, 45, of Ross, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

She attended the Stop the Steal rally with Grayson and then entered the Capitol building, where she remained for 47 minutes.

She was ordered to serve 14 days incarceration, two years probation and perform 50 hours of community service.

“I truly accept responsibility for entering the Capitol,” Heinl told the court at her June 8 sentencing. “I should have known better, and I’m deeply sorry for that.”

Debra Maimone, 29, and Philip Vogel, 35, both of New Castle.

They are charged with theft of property, knowingly entering restricted grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct.

The government said that they kicked a door and stole protective masks from a police officer’s bag during the riot.

Their charges are still pending, but a Nov. 21 entry in their court docket shows that they are engaged in “good faith negotiations” with the government with “the view toward a pretrial resolution.”

Robert Morss, 29, a former Shaler substitute teacher, was found guilty Aug. 23 in a bench trial of felony counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding; assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon; and robbery.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13.

The government said that Morss, a former Army Ranger, wore tactical gear to the Capitol and acted as a leader, giving instruction to other rioters and organizing a shield wall to try to breach police lines. He also was accused of trying to grab an officer’s baton and helmet visor.

Morss has been in custody since June 2021.

Matthew Perna, of Mercer County, pleaded guilty to four counts against him in December 2021.

He was scheduled to be sentenced in March, but died by suicide on Feb. 25.

Nicholas Perretta, 28, of Baden, and Mitchell Vukich, 27, of New Brighton, were each sentenced to 30 days in prison and to pay $500 in restitution.

They pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2021, to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

The government said they remained inside for 25 minutes.

Russell Peterson, 36, of Rochester, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He was ordered to serve 30 days in custody and pay $500 in restitution.

The government said he livestreamed from inside the Capitol twice that afternoon.

Rachel Powell, 42, of Mercer County, is scheduled to have a jury trial on Feb. 21 before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth.

She is currently on house arrest with GPS monitoring.

The government said that Powell, who earned the moniker “Pink Hat Lady,” used a bullhorn to give instruction to other rioters on how to gain control of the Capitol. Images also showed her using a large pipe as a ram to break windows.

She is charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct.

Peter Schwartz, of Uniontown, went to trial in December. A jury found him guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon, obstruction of an official proceeding and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.

Prosecutors said that Schwartz threw a folding chair at police officers and sprayed them with pepper spray.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5 and could face a lengthy term of incarceration.

Julia Sizer, of Ellwood City, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building.

She was ordered to serve one year of probation and pay a $2,000 fine.

The government said she spent just two minutes inside the Capitol — only making it about 20 feet inside — before turning around and leaving.

“I turned around because it kind of snapped into my head, ‘What am I doing? This isn’t me,’” she told the court. “I’m ashamed. I’ve embarrassed myself, my family, my friends.”

Brian Sizer, of Ellwood City, pleaded guilty on Thursday to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

He was charged more than a year after his wife pleaded guilty.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5.

Dale Jeremiah Shalvey, formerly of Washington County, and his wife, Tara Aileen Stottlemyer pleaded guilty on Oct. 3.

The couple now lives in Conover, North Carolina.

Shalvey pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Prosecutors said he walked to a bike rack being used as a barricade and assaulted an officer by throwing something at them. Shalvey also was accused of taking a letter written by Sen. Mitt Romney to Vice President Mike Pence and destroying it.

Stottlemyer pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding.

They entered the Capitol building and remained inside for more than 40 minutes.

Shalvey is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20.

Stottlemyer will be sentenced on Feb. 24.

Jeremy Vorous, 45, of Crawford County, is scheduled for a status conference in his case on Jan. 25.

He is charged with five counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding; disorderly and disruptive conduct; and parading, demonstrating or picketing a Capitol building.

Vorous told the FBI that he followed others into the Capitol building but did not go to commit violence.

Mikhail Edward Slye, 32, of Meadville, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4.

The government said Slye, who entered the Capitol twice, used a bike rack barricade to intentionally trip a U.S. Capitol police officer who was trying to rescue another officer caught in the crowd on the north side of the Capitol. As a result of being tripped, prosecutors said, the officer fell down stairs and injured his hand, wrist and lower body.

The FBI continues to seek help from the public to identify about 350 more people believed to have committed violent acts that day, including assaulting police officers.

Anyone with a tip can call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or 1-800-225-5324 or go to tips.fbi.gov.