Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 30
- Location
- Houston, 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; Entering and Remaining on the Floor of Congress; 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
Landon Mitchell told friends on Facebook that he was “one of the very first in” during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, adding that he is “invincible” and “not too worried” about getting arrested because he was “masked up the whole time,” according to subpoenaed Facebook messages included in an FBI statement of facts. Mitchell attached photos and videos of himself posing on the dais at the front of the Senate chamber. Additionally, surveillance footage shows Mitchell entering the Senate chamber and leafing through documents left on a desk when senators abandoned the room, according to the statement of facts. The court documents also include posts from Mitchell’s Facebook page including the statements, “If we don’t fight now, there is no point in ever voting again” and “when they invalidated my vote with all their chasing, they invalidated my consent to be governed by them!” Luke Bender, a man arrested in July on charges stemming from the riot at the Capitol, also told FBI agents that he and Mitchell, his former co-worker, remained inside the Senate chamber for about five minutes, according to the statement of facts. Mitchell was arrested Oct. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va., and ordered to wear a GPS monitor upon his release.
Case History
Mitchell pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Found Guilty on all charges in a stipulated Bench trial on 12/7/2022. Sentenced on 4/20/2023 to 27 months incarceration; supervised release of 36 months; special assessment of $180; $2,000 restitution. Mitchell 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.