Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 58
- Location
- Bastrop, Texas
- Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; 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
Jeffery Witcher is a U.S. Marine Corps and Army veteran who traveled to Washington “to take part in civil disobedience,” which he told FBI agents he expected to be nonviolent. A criminal complaint states Witcher told the FBI that free speech is being censored nationwide, and he hoped to help facilitate a dialogue. Witcher stopped by Trump International Hotel for a photo on his way to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the criminal complaint. While inside the Capitol building, the complaint alleges Witcher sent videos to friends, who later forwarded them to the FBI. “I am in the White House! We crashed this. Our house!” Witcher said in a video the FBI recovered from his phone. He clarified to the FBI he “was so emotional and invested in the moment, he briefly forgot he was in the Capitol building and not the White House.” The video also includes a heavy thud, which Witcher said was someone throwing a fire extinguisher at police officers. Witcher can be heard shouting, “Don’t do that! No, no! No! These are not our enemies,” according to the criminal complaint. The complaint said Witcher was hesitant but eventually identified a fellow Marine, Richard Barnard, who accompanied him inside the Capitol building. On a layover in Atlanta on his way home on Jan. 6, Witcher deleted most of the videos and photos he had taken at the Capitol. The complaint says he “saw what was happening on the news, and felt the videos could be self-incriminating.” However, during Witcher’s interview with the FBI on Jan. 26, 2021, the complaint says agents located files in his iPhone’s folder of deleted pictures. According to a sentencing memo filed by the defendant in court, Witcher served in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army.
Case History
Witcher pleaded Guilty to one count of: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds. The remaining charges were dismissed. Sentenced 2/4/2022 to 12 months of Probation; Special Assessment of $25; Restitution of 500; 60 hours of community service. Witcher 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.