Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 23
- Location
- Watertown, New York
- Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Theft of Government Property (2 counts); Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Entering and Remaining in the Gallery of Congress; Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
A tipster reached out to the FBI to tell it that Rafael Rondon was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with his mother, Maryann Mooney-Rondon, who is also charged, according to court documents. Surveillance footage, as well as other videos and photographs, allegedly show Rondon and his mother inside the building, including inside the Senate gallery and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's conference room, where they are allegedly seen standing nearby in a video that appears to show a laptop being stolen from the room, court records indicate. In the Senate gallery, Rondon and his mother allegedly appear in photographs carrying protective respiratory hoods, which are stored in the gallery in case of a biological or chemical attack. Later on, Rondon can reportedly be seen wearing the hood in photographs taken on the Capitol steps, court documents indicate. In an interview with the FBI, Rondon allegedly admitted to being inside the Capitol that day, telling the agents: "I think everybody was going there for about the same reason I was, just have your voice heard.” He also admitted to helping the man who took the laptop in Pelosi's conference room, saying, "I was honestly a little bit afraid, because I didn’t know if he had anything on him. So I assisted him a little bit, and that was probably stupid of me," according to court documents.
Case History
Rondon pleaded Guilty to one charge: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 11/29/2023 to five years of probation, consecutive to a separate federal sentence in the Northern District of New York, with the first 12 months to be served in home incarceration; $2,000 in restitution; Special assessment of $100; 350 hours of community service. Rondon 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 - 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.