Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 40
- Location
- Cleveland, Tennessee
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; 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 the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
A witness told FBI agents that Joseph Padilla, also known as Jose Padilla, has “recently been immersed in the alt-right and had a ‘Q-Anon mentality.’” The criminal complaint claims Padilla approached police barricades during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot wearing a scuba mask. “Push! Push! F***ing push!” Padilla yelled as officers stripped off his mask and struck him with batons to stop him. The complaint states that Padilla later threw a flagpole at officers who were being attacked by rioters on steps leading into the U.S. Capitol. “I was beaten unconscious twice, sprayed more times than I care to count, received strikes from batons that should have been lethal … except that God was on my side,” Padilla later wrote on pro-Trump website thedonald.win, according to the FBI. The criminal complaint also claims Padilla posted to Facebook on Jan. 7 to dispute rumors that antifa masterminded the riot. “It was not Antifa,” Padilla wrote. “They were Patriots who were trying to Restore the Republic after being attacked by the cops, who struck first.” Padilla served in the Tennessee Army National Guard from July 2002 until October 2012. He attained the rank of sergeant, a National Guard spokesperson confirmed.
Case History
Padilla pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Found Guilty on 5/3/2023 in a Bench trial on all charges except one: Civil Disorder. That charge is dismissed. Sentenced on 9/13/2023 to 78 months incarceration with credit for time served; 24 months of supervised release; Special assessment of $820; Restitution of $2,000. Padilla received a full pardon on January 20, 2025 and the court dismissed his superseding indictment with prejudice.
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.