Ex-Salt Lake police officer admits participating in US Capitol riot

An image of a video obtained by the FBI shows a man investigators say is Michael Lee Hardin, circled in red, in a crowd of people inside the Capitol Crypt in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Hardin pleaded guilty Friday to participating in the riot.

An image of a video obtained by the FBI shows a man investigators say is Michael Lee Hardin, circled in red, in a crowd of people inside the Capitol Crypt in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Hardin pleaded guilty Friday to participating in the riot. (U.S. District Court)


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WASHINGTON — A fourth Utahn has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge related to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Michael Lee Hardin, a Kaysville resident and former Salt Lake police officer, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to court filings. The misdemeanor is the same charge three other Utah residents have pleaded guilty to in connection with the attack.

The last Utahn to plead guilty to a Jan. 6 charge was Janet Buhler, who is Hardin's stepmother-in-law. The two were seen together on security cameras during the Capitol riot, charging documents say.

A tipster, identified as a friend of Hardin, told the FBI that Hardin sent text messages that day allegedly saying, "We stormed the Capitol, I am in here now," according to charging documents. Investigators later learned that Hardin used to be a police officer.

Another tipster sent the FBI a photo Hardin allegedly took inside the Capitol alongside a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Capitol Crypt. The tipster told the FBI they received the photo from one of Hardin's family members. Investigators later obtained GPS data from Google that showed a mobile device linked to Hardin's email account was inside the Capitol during the riot. Hardin was later arrested in April and initially faced four misdemeanor counts connected to the Capitol riot.

New court records include a signed statement from Hardin where he admits that he and Buhler entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door and walked through the Capitol Crypt before taking a photo with the Lincoln statue. He and Buhler then walked upstairs to the Capitol Rotunda and watched "rioters violently break through the East Rotunda doors" which was staffed by police, according to court records. The two then went to the Senate Gallery for a few minutes before leaving the building.

With his guilty plea to the single charge, the misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of six months behind bars and a maximum fine of $5,000. Another Utah defendant, Jacob Wiedrich, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced Wednesday to three months of home confinement and three years of probation.

Hardin is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11. He is not currently being held in jail.

A total of eight Utah residents have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. As of Friday, half have pleaded guilty and only Wiedrich has been sentenced.

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Jacob Scholl joined KSL.com as a reporter in 2021. He covers northern Utah communities, federal courts and technology.

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