Berks County man pleads guilty to U.S. Capitol riot charges
Jul. 25—A Fleetwood man facing federal charges for assaulting three police officers and a member of the news media during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty in federal court Monday.
Alan Byerly pleaded guilty to two of the eight counts with which he was charged. The plea was part of a deal with prosecutors.
During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, the 55-year-old Byerly pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and one count of striking, beating and wounding on federal property.
The charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer carries a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. The other charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and one year of supervised release. Byerly also will be required to pay restitution. The judge scheduled a sentencing date in October.
The rest of the charges were dismissed. They were civil disorder; entering and remaining on restricted grounds using and carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds using and carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds using and carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon; and commiting an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
Byerly has been in federal custody since being charged in July 2021.
In September he pleaded not guilty to the charges he was facing.
He was offered a federal plea deal but turned it down in November, planning to head to trial. That trial never happened.
Instead, Byerly changed his mind and accepted the government's plea deal.
The case
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Byerly was among a crowd of rioters who gathered near a line of bicycle racks set up by police to keep the crowd at bay.
Video shows Byerly just behind the bike racks holding what appears to be a stun gun, which he raises with his right hand and activates. Byerly charges at police, some of whom can be heard yelling, "Taser! Taser! Taser!" to warn their fellow officers.
Within seconds, the officers were able to knock the stun gun out of Byerly's hands. But he kept charging, striking and pushing officers. At one point he tried to take a baton from an officer, knocking that officer to the ground in the process.
Officers were eventually able to restrain Byerly. However, he was able to escape the scene with the help of a fellow rioter.
The attack on police officers was the second assault in which Byerly was involved that day.
Earlier that afternoon, Byerly was caught on footage posted by media outlets. It showed him joining the assault of an Associated Press photographer who was pulled down a flight of stairs, pushed to the ground and dragged toward a mob of protesters.
