Richard Michetti

Case Summary

An ex-girlfriend reported Richard Michetti to the FBI after he sent a text message from the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, calling her a “moron,” according to court documents. Michetti allegedly sent a stream of messages and videos to the woman at about 2:45 p.m. the day of the riot, showing protesters carrying flags both inside and outside the Capitol. “If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron,” court documents say Michetti wrote to the woman at about 4:30 p.m. “Trump won but they won’t audit the votes.” Michetti continued this prolonged text message exchange with his ex-girlfriend into the evening, writing just after 6 p.m., “I understand your point but what I'm saying is [ex-girlfriend's name] the election was rigged and everyone knows it. All's we wanted was an investigation.” FBI documents say Michetti's ex-girlfriend identified him in photos and security camera footage that agents collected from the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Case History

Michetti pleaded Guilty to one charge: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 9/6/2022 to 9 months of incarceration, 24 months of supervised release, $2,000 restitution, $100 special assessment. Michetti 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.