Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 68
- Location
- El Monte, California
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; Destruction of Government Property; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full
Case Summary
The FBI was tipped off to defendant Jerry Braun’s alleged actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by an Uber driver who had been on duty that day. According to the driver, one of his passengers, who he identified as “Jerry Last Name Unknown,” entered his vehicle with an injury on his face and said that he “tore down the barricades,” court records indicate. The driver replied, “Well, how’d that work out for ya?” and the man alleged to be Braun responded “Well, it looks like, uh, Biden’s gonna be our president." After matching a photograph of Braun in the Uber car to a driver's license photo, FBI agents found additional images they allege are of him on Jan. 6, including some from police body worn camera, which allegedly show him struggling with law enforcement at a barricade. Some images in the affidavit also allegedly show Braun fighting with a photographer and brandishing an 8-foot-long wooden plank with which he struck him. Prosecutors say he was wearing a black face mask covering his nose and chin with a long white beard poking out. When federal agents executed a search warrant at Braun’s house in California, he allegedly told them he had been analyzing politics his whole life and went to Washington, D.C., to hear then-President Trump. Court records indicate that when the federal agents seized Braun’s cellphone, they found a selfie of his eye injury, which he allegedly called his “Souvenir from DC," and a text that said he “tried to stop the steal but they wouldn’t let us in.” According to court documents, agents asked him if he wanted to tell them anything before they left the house, to which Braun responded, “Guilty.” When asked of what, he allegedly replied, “everything.”
Case History
On 10/2/2024, the court dismissed counts 2 and 5: Obstruction and Destruction of Gov't Property. On 10/8/2024, Braun pleaded Guilty to the remaining charges. Sentencing set for 1/27/2025. On 1/22/2025, the court grants the government’s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice
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.