Jan. 6 rioter turned in by ex-girlfriend sentenced to 9 months in prison

A Jan. 6, 2021, rioter who was turned in to authorities by his ex-girlfriend after he sent text messages and photos from the Capitol has been sentenced to nine months in federal prison.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Richard Michetti, 29, of Ridley Park, Pa., was also sentenced to 24 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Michetti was charged with multiple offenses including obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted area and disorderly conduct.

He pleaded guilty to all charges against him in May. 

The DOJ said Michetti arrived at the Capitol building around 2:06 p.m. on Jan. 6 after attending a nearby rally with other rioters.

When he arrived at the Capitol, Michetti texted an unidentified individual a series of messages and photos, officials said, detailing his every move as rioters advanced inside the Capitol’s hallways.

“It’s going down here we stormed the building they held us back with spray and teargas and paintballs,” he wrote, according to prosecutors. 

“Gotta stop the vote it’s fraud this is our country,” Michetti texted minutes later, officials added. 

Michetti also recorded videos of himself inside the Capitol Rotunda after illegally entering the Upper West Terrace Door of the building with other rioters and several minutes later was yelling and pinched the sleeve of an officer as he and other rioters tried to go further into the building, according to authorities. 

Michetti left the building after approximately an hour and remained on Capitol grounds for two more hours, the DOJ noted. 

Michetti was arrested by authorities on Feb. 23 after his ex-girlfriend, whom he referred to as a “moron” for not believing his false election claims, contacted authorities on Jan. 7, 2021, with evidence of her conversation with her ex-partner the day earlier, according to court documents. 

More than 860 individuals have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the Capitol insurrection, which resulted in the deaths of five people. Two hundred and sixty individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement during the riot.