Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 27
- Location
- Huntington, New York
- 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
The government alleges that multiple people sent in tips that Christopher Ortiz had posted video on Instagram from inside the Capitol during the rioting. Ortiz allegedly exchanged messages with one person about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, saying he went to the Capitol because he is "vehemently against CCP influence in our government." ("CCP" appears to be a reference to the Chinese Communist Party.) "I didn’t break or vandalize or steal," he wrote, according to court documents. "I walked through and out." “I’d storm the Capitol for you any day," he allegedly wrote. Those messages were then shared with the FBI, and Ortiz was arrested on Jan. 27, 2021, in New York state.
Case History
Ortiz pleaded Guilty to one charge: Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 8/9/2022 to 12 months of Probation; 60 days location monitoring/home confinement; Special Assessment of $10; Restitution of $500; 100 hours community service. Ortiz 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.