Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 55
- Location
- Maryland
- Charges
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building; Violent Entry and 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
Soon after the Capitol riot, the FBI issued a "be on the lookout" bulletin with a series of pictures of suspects in the Capitol riot. The Office of the State’s Attorney for Harford County, Md., then told the FBI that it used facial recognition software to identify one of the people in the photos as Robert Reeder of Maryland, according to federal court records. Later, on Jan. 19, 2021, Reeder contacted federal law enforcement through an attorney and provided photos and videos from in and around the Capitol during the riot. According to the affidavit, Reeder recorded "an assault on a Capitol Police Officer" and also filmed himself apparently telling an officer, "You need to retreat!” At another point in the video, the affidavit states, Reeder spoke directly to the camera and said, "I was in there for over half an hour. I got gassed several times inside the Capitol, many times outside the Capitol. Got shot with pepper balls. It was f****** nuts. We had to do...ah...battle with the Police inside. It was crazy...absolutely insane.”
Case History
Reeder pleaded Guilty to one count: Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. The other charges were dismissed. Sentenced 10/8/2021 to 3 months in jail; $10 special assessment; $500 restitution. Reeder 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.