Mercer County man pleads guilty to involvement in Capitol riot
A Mercer County man who participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty Friday to all four counts against him.
Matthew Perna, 37, of Sharon, will be sentenced on March 3 before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, D.C. He pleaded guilty Friday by video conference.
Perna was charged with a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct.
He was not charged with any acts of violence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty told the court Friday that Perna attended the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, and then moved to the Capitol, entering the building at 2:47 p.m.
He was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt that said “Make America Great Again,” and remained inside the building for 20 minutes, during which time he used his cellphone to record video and chanted “USA, USA” with the crowd,” the prosecutor said.
Investigators have still images and video of Perna’s inside the building.
Later, Perna posted an eight-minute video to Facebook, in which he claimed that members of Antifa were responsible for breaking the windows and damage at the Capitol, Mohanty said.
In the video, Perna can be heard saying, “‘It’s not over. Trust me. The purpose of today was to prove Pence as a traitor,’” Mohanty said.
After the government summarized the allegations, Perna said, “I agree with Mr. Mohanty’s account. I’m guilty of what was stated.”
Perna, who was released on bond pending trial, earns a living selling CBD products online. He will remain free on bond pending sentencing, which is also expected to occur via video conference.
He is one of 15 defendants from Western Pennsylvania to have been charged in the Capitol riot.
At least two others have pleaded guilty, including Russell James Peterson, of Rochester, Beaver County, and Jennifer Heinl, of Ross.
Peterson was sentenced on Dec. 1 to serve 30 days behind bars and pay $500 in restitution. His report date to begin serving his sentence is Jan. 3
Heinl is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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