Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 31
- Location
- Delphos, Ohio
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Court documents state that shortly after the 2020 election, Matthew Honigford stopped attending mandatory training sessions with the Ohio Army National Guard, his employer at the time, claiming that he did not trust the state of the country after Joe Biden's election. Cell phone and bank records identified Honigford as being at the Stop The Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and subsequently at the Capitol building as the riot unfolded. Around 2:30 pm, court documents state, Honigford was at the front of a crowd of rioters pushing officers up a set of stairs near the Southwest Plaza exit wing, and was captured on body camera footage thrusting a flagpole horizontally into an officer's chest. A few minutes later, he was allegedly seen trying to touch officers on the Upper West Terrace, saying he was praying for them. Shortly thereafter, Honigford joined a group attempting to break through a metal barrier, pushing the barrier into officers and eventually succeeding in breaking the line.
Case History
Honigford pleaded Guilty to the charge. Sentenced on 8/19/2024 to 19 Months Incarceration; 24 Months of Supervised Release; Restitution of $2,000; Special Assessment fee of $100. Honigford 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.