A Long Island man pleaded guilty Thursday to spraying wasp killer at police and assaulting journalists during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
On that fateful day, a mob of then-President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win. The riot erupted following Trump’s repeated false claims that Biden’s election victory was stolen via widespread voter fraud.
Peter Moloney of Bayport, New York, was there that day and one of the over 1,500 people charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Of those charged, over 950 of them have pleaded guilty, and over 200 have been convicted after trial.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge for spraying wasp killer at four Metropolitan Police Department officers. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of eight years.
It appears that Moloney came to the Capitol “prepared for violence,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit, which also states that Moloney had protective eyewear, a helmet and a can of insecticide. The agent wrote in the affidavit that video shows Moloney spraying the insecticide at police.
Moloney also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for assaulting a journalist. According to a court filing accompanying his plea agreement, Moloney grabbed the journalist’s camera and yanked it, which caused the journalist to stumble down the stairs and damage his camera. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of one year.
He also admitted to assaulting an Associated Press photographer who was at the Capitol that day. Like the other journalist, Moloney grabbed the photographer’s camera and pulled it, which caused the photographer to stagger down the stairs, according to the FBI agent’s affidavit. Moloney was then seen “punching and shoving” the photographer before other rioters shoved the photographer over a wall, according to the agent.
Moloney’s defense attorney, Edward Heilig, said his client takes “full responsibility” for his actions on January 6 and “deeply regrets his actions on that day.”
He will be sentenced on February 11.
A group of pro-Trump protesters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. A Long Island man pleaded guilty Thursday to spraying wasp killer at police and assaulting journalists during the riot.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Moloney co-owned Moloney Family Funeral Homes with his brother, Dan Moloney. His brother said in a statement after Moloney’s arrest in June 2023 that the “alleged actions taken by an individual on his own time are in no way reflective of the core values” of their business, “which is dedicated to earning and maintaining the trust of all members of the community of every race, religion and nationality.”
Heilig said his client has since left the business.
Trump, the current GOP presidential nominee, also faces four felony counts in his federal election subversion case in Washington, D.C., relating to his alleged actions surrounding the Capitol riot: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
