A U.S. Capitol Police officer charged with attempting to help a rioter after the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol pleaded not guilty in a federal court appearance on Tuesday in Washington.
Capitol Police officer Michael A. Riley pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice after he allegedly urged a person under suspicion for participating in the Capitol attack to scrub their social media accounts of references to being in the building when supporters of then-President Donald Trump tried to shut down counting of the Electoral College ballots that made Joe Biden the next president.
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Riley was the first police officer on duty on Capitol Hill the day of the riot to be charged with aiding a rioter. He was arrested Friday.
Prosecutors said Riley, 50, who has been a Capitol Police officer for about 25 years, sent dozens of messages to an unidentified rioter, advising them to remove incriminating posts because the FBI was investigating social media to identify rioters. Riley also allegedly told the unidentified rioter that he “agrees with your political stance.”
“Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to charged,” one of Riley’s messages allegedly said. “Just looking out!”
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A spokesperson for the Capitol Police pointed to a Friday statement from Chief Tom Manger calling the allegations against Riley “serious” and said Riley has been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the case. Manger also said the department will conduct an administrative investigation.
Also on Tuesday, the Capitol Police unveiled a recruitment campaign, saying one of its “top priorities is to hire more than 200 additional sworn officers for our critical mission to protect the Congress and the U.S. Capitol.”
