A January 6 Capitol protester was cleared of all charges brought against him on Wednesday afternoon. Matthew Martin, an engineer from New Mexico admitted to entering the Capitol building on Jan.6 but successfully argued that police allowed him in. The Washington Examiner reports that after a two-day bench trial, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden found Martin not guilty.
After being detained in April 2021, Martin was charged with entering and remaining in an off-limits facility, as well as unruly and disruptive behavior. He stated throughout his trial that he entered the building because he thought he had authorization from officers, who enabled him to do so. Prosecutors argued that Martin should have known better when he walked past the “ARE CLOSED” signs and proceeded to film the commotion, but McFadden stated during his ruling that Martin’s “plausible” belief outweighed evidence presented by the prosecution.
McFadden said he wasn’t sure if Martin was waved inside the building by an officer based on video evidence he had seen but believed that Martin waited for permission to enter the building while the officer chatted with another individual. McFadden highlighted that he was not condemning the officers’ handling of the incident, but that Martin’s version of events was reasonable.
