Leonard Pearson Ridge

Case Summary

“The election was completely stolen,” wrote Leonard Pearson Ridge on Snapchat to a friend in December, 2020, according to court documents. “If they can steal it once they can steal it the next time too, forever screwed if we don’t stop it this time,” his friend responded. “Yeah man something needs to change and something big will happen in this nation very soon either in our favor or theirs and it’s just the final boiling point whoever gets the upper hand will just control the country honestly,” Ridge responded. In the days following Jan. 6, 2021, a confidential witness contacted the FBI, stating that Ridge uploaded multiple pictures and videos of himself inside and outside the Capitol to a Snapchat messenger group. “Currently making history,” one caption read. Additional footage and geodata show Ridge walking inside the rotunda. “I got tear gased [sic] and maced five times,” he wrote to a friend that same day in the evening. “Yeah man so epic I have a video of me fighting riot police in the capital [sic] building.”

Case History

Ridge pleaded Guilty to one charge: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 1/4/2022 to 14 days incarceration; 1 year supervised release; 100 hours community service; $1,000 fine; $500 restitution; $10 special assessment. Ridge 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.