Confined to home detention, Montague couple blames social media for Jan. 6 convictions
A 50-something couple from Montague County who tussled with police on Capitol grounds — ultimately retreating from cops in a rain of chemical spray — were ordered confined at home during a Valentine's Day hearing to await sentencing for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, court records show.
Mark Middleton, 55, and Jalise Middleton, 54, both of Forestburg were found guilty Tuesday of attacking officers trying to hold rioters back from storming the Capitol.
The Middletons were caught on body-camera footage struggling with police. They also took to social media to brag about fighting with the cops, as Jalise posted, and helping topple barriers, as Mark said in a Facebook video.
Mark and Jalise Middleton guilty of nine crimes in Jan. 6 riot
On Tuesday, a Washington, D.C., jury found them guilty of multiple felonies: two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, and obstruction of an official proceeding.
They were also convicted of misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in such premises, engaging in physical violence in those areas, disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or building, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building.
The actions of the couple and others disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election, according to a media release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Middletons are to appear Feb. 28 via Zoom before U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss. Their sentencing hearing before the judge is set for June 12.
Middletons co-found fundraising group for J6ers
While the DOJ heralded justice done, a swell of support called for thoughts and prayers for the couple on social media. It should be no surprise part of that support showed up on American Patriot Relief's Facebook page.
The Middletons are among co-founders of the Denton-based organization described on its website as a charity raising money to help "J6ers" with travel and other expenses. Reports posted on the website indicate the group raised $64,495 in the first three quarters of 2023.
Middletons were 'boastful and untruthful'
A recent update on the website contends the couple did not stand a chance in court and were not tried by a jury of their peers.
In a blurry Facebook video posted Wednesday morning, Jalise said she wanted to get make something clear.
"After Jan. 6, Mark and I made boastful and untruthful posts on Facebook, and typical of all the Jan. 6 defendants, that is what they've come after," she said with Mark beside her.
In any case, Mark, listed as a volunteer firefighter and public speaker on LinkedIn, and Jalise, described as marketing director and founding member of American Patriot Relief on her social media account, face the possibility of doing time in a federal prison.
Caught on video: Fighting cops, swearing
Evidence at trial showed Metropolitan Police Department officers came to the west front of the Capitol to help Capitol police protect the building and grounds from rioters, according to the DOJ media release.
Around 2:09 p.m., rioters refused repeated orders from metro officers to step back from the police line and bike rack barricades.
Trial evidence and body-cam footage show officers struggle with rioters as Mark pushes against the barricades and police line. Officers repeatedly tell him and others, "Get back!"
He yells, “F— you!” while continuing to push against barricades, according to the media release. He not only resists metro officers but also grabs an officer’s hand or wrist and pulls him forward toward the crowd.
Body-cam footage shows that at the same time, Jalise repeatedly grabs and strikes the same officer over the barricade with her hand.
When another officer comes to help, she hits him, too. In video footage, the Middletons keep grappling with and hitting at officers.
They also try to pull an officer into the rioting crowd while various flags were jabbed toward officers’ faces. MPD used chemical spray to force the Middletons to retreat.
The FBI arrested the couple April 21, 2021, in Forestburg after contacting tipsters and investigating. Their trial was postponed a few times, but a jury was selected Feb. 5.
The Middletons are among over 1,313 people who have been charged in nearly all 50 states for allegations related to the breach of the Capitol in the 37 months since, according to the DOJ.
That includes over 469 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony. The investigation is ongoing. Tips can be called into the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or entered online at tips.fbi.gov.
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Mark and Jalise Middleton of Montague County guilty of Jan. 6 crimes
