David Mehaffie

Case Summary

David Mehaffie is charged alongside eight others over his alleged involvement in the assault on officers in a U.S. Capitol tunnel during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. According to HuffPost, Mehaffie was known by the online group Sedition Hunters as the "#TunnelCommander" over his alleged role in giving orders to rioters attacking police officers at one entrance to the Capitol building. The Sedition Hunters group seeks to help federal investigators in identifying the rioters. In the past, Mehaffie has also been a member of an anti-abortion group in Ohio that would protest outside abortion clinics, HuffPost reported.

Case History

Mehaffie pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. A Bench Trial was held 8/29/2022-9/7/2022. On 9/13/2022, Mehaffie was found guilty of four charges - two felony charges: aiding and abetting in assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder; and two misdemeanor charges: disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building and aiding and abetting in committing an act of violence in the Capitol Building or grounds. Not Guilty of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding. Sentenced 2/24/2023 to 14 months incarceration; 2 years of supervised release; $220 special assessment; $2,000 restitution. Mehaffie 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.