Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 56
- Location
- Sherman Oaks, California
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly Weapon; Disorderly or Disruptive Conduct in Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly Weapon
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, a friend of Eric Christie ran into him standing in a crowd close to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., according to an FBI interview conducted days later with that friend. According to the friend, the pair went back to Christie’s hotel and watched then-President Donald Trump's speech on Christie's cell phone. Later that day, Christie joined the crowd in the streets and marched to the U.S. Capitol. According to the FBI, Christie ran toward the front of the crowd as they pushed through a police line and barriers erected on the east side of the Capitol building. Christie was draped in a Pride flag and had a claw hammer tucked into his belt, court documents indicate. He reportedly shouted into a bull horn: “It’s a MAGA party” and “You’re invited. It’s your house." Christie was arrested on Dec. 23, 2022. According to local media, he was a write-in candidate for Los Angeles City Council in 2020.
Case History
Christie pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Found Guilty in a Bench trial on 8/11/2023 of both charges. Sentenced on 12/1/2023 to time served; 36 months of supervised release; 100 hours of community service; $200 special assessment. Christie 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.