Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 35
- Location
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
“We The People have spoken and we are pissed,” reads the Facebook post accompanying a photo of a man in ski goggles and a gas mask on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court documents. “No antifa, no BLM… We The People took the Capitol… Democratic tyranny WILL NOT STAND! WE HAVE SPOKEN!!” The post ended with six American flags and hashtags with March for Trump and Stop the Steal. Authorities later identified, from other photos, the man in the goggles as Blake Austin Reed. A tipster provided a screenshot of Reed’s Facebook account, according to court documents, and it had a series of photographs of the events leading up to the breach of the Capitol. Prominently featured in the photographs: Reed with those ski goggles and a purple and yellow respirator.
Case History
Reed pleaded Guilty to one charge: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 4/14/2022 to 36 months probation with 42 days intermittent confinement and 90 days home detention; fine of $2,500; restitution of $500; special assessment of $25. Reed received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR - Supporting Reporting
NPR video evidence pageNPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.