Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Location
- Seabrook, Texas
- Charges
- Civil Disorder
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
The FBI claims a video posted to YouTube shows Christian Cortez at a doorway to the U.S. Capitol building hurling expletives at police officers and egging them on to fire at him with pepper spray and fire extinguishers as they tried to force the doors closed. "Do it! We’re just standing here!” Cortez demands in the video. “Do it some f***in’ more!” Two weeks after the riot, court documents said Cortez told FBI investigators he drove with a friend from Texas to Virginia on Jan. 4, 2021, to attend the Jan. 6 rally with former President Donald Trump. Cortez told the FBI he did not see barricades, ropes or officers at the Capitol. He confirmed to FBI agents that he entered an atrium of the Capitol but said he was “trying to help the officers when he got sprayed with something.”
Case History
Cortez pleaded Guilty to Civil Disorder. Sentenced 8/31/2022 to 4 months incarceration; 36 months of supervised release; 60 hours of community service; $2,000 restitution; $100 special assessment. Cortez 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
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.