A former Marine who carried a tiki torch ahead of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Tyler Bradley Dykes of Bluffton, S.C., pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers protecting the Capitol. The crime carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release, according to the plea agreement.
Attorneys for Dykes did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
Dykes, 26, was arrested in July on a series of federal charges, including felonies. According to court documents, prosecutors agreed to seek dismissal of the other charges in the indictment during sentencing as part of his plea deal.
His sentencing is scheduled for July 19.
According to court documents, Dykes subscribed to a series of public Telegram groups related to the 2020 presidential election, voter fraud allegations and events related to the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory prior to the Jan. 6 riot. One group he joined, which called for violence and the violent overthrow of the government, contained a message that referenced a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler, prosecutors said.
Dykes — who previously served a prison sentence following a felony conviction in connection with the 2017 torchlit march in Charlottesville, a night before the “United the Right” rally — wore a gray puffer jacket and a neck gaiter over his face during the riot at the Capitol, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Dykes was among a group of rioters who tried to enter the Capitol through the East Rotunda doors. Dykes was also accused of forcibly stealing a U.S. Capitol Police officer’s riot shield and using it to force his way into the Capitol and obstruct the police line defending the Capitol once inside.
Of the more than 859 defendants convicted since the 2021 riot, more than 520 have been sentenced to terms ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal prison.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
