Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 40
- Location
- Vienna, Virginia
- Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Hatchet M. Speed told his story of the U.S. Capitol insurrection to an undercover FBI employee, court documents show. Prosecutors say Speed admitted to going to the Capitol with friends who are members of the Proud Boys and eventually entering, though he said that wasn’t the plan – he said he simply wanted to listen to speeches. “What the FBI did in advance is they arrested or threatened all the people they knew were going to be the speakers so that there would be no leadership. They wanted to make sure there was no one there … they wanted to maximize the possibility of violence,” Speed said, according to prosecutors. Court documents show when Speed did decide to go into the Capitol, he blamed what he saw as a betrayal by Mike Pence, saying: “I have no respect for people in this building. They have no respect for me.” When he left, the FBI says, Speed claims it was because he thought House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had agreed to a 10-day delay of the vote and an investigation of the election, which was not the case. “It should have gotten to the point where Nancy Pelosi should have resigned out of fear for her life. That’s what should have happened," Speed allegedly said. Court records show investigators used cell records, surveillance footage and publicly available video to track Speed’s time inside the building, which lasted approximately 40 minutes. According to sentencing memos filed in court, Speed served in the U.S. Navy Reserves and was employed as a software developer with a defense contractor.
Case History
Speed pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Bench Trial held from 3/2/2023-3/7/2023. Speed was found Guilty on all charges. Sentenced on 5/8/2023 to 48 Months of Incarceration; 36 Months of Supervised Release; Special Assessment of $170; Restitution of $2,000; Fine of $10,000. Speed 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.