Matthew Perna

Case Summary

According to court documents, Matthew Perna posted an 8-minute video on his Facebook account on Jan. 6, 2021. It was shot inside a hotel room, and in it, Perna and a woman sitting next to him describe what they had just seen and done at the Capitol. About two minutes in, Perna allegedly says, “Steve and I, we walked right into the Capitol Building.” Perna was No. 73 on an FBI bulletin of suspects, and when friends and acquaintances saw an image of Perna on the list, they called the FBI. According to court documents, acquaintances told the FBI that Perna followed QAnon and had recently purchased a handgun. On Jan. 14, 2021, agents interviewed Perna at his home and he said, according to the documents, that he had attended the Trump rally on Jan. 6 and marched with the others to the Capitol. He said he and a friend had climbed to the top of the steps of the Capitol and were surprised to find the door open. He told agents, according to the documents, that he was pushed into the building by the crowd and had not intended to go inside. According to the court filing, Perna initially said he was only inside for five or 10 minutes. He later admitted, it said, to becoming frustrated and “using a metal pole, tapped on a window of the Capitol building.”

Case History

Perna pleaded Guilty to all charges. The Mercer County Coroner's office confirmed that Perna committed suicide at his residence on Feb. 25, 2022.The prosecution of Perna is ABATED due to his death.

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.