Sacramento-area suspect in Capitol riot case pleads not guilty in D.C. court hearing
One of three Sacramento-area suspects in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot case pleaded not guilty during a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., Monday as her attorney sought to minimize her actions.
Valerie Elaine Ehrke, an Arbuckle home designer, faces four misdemeanor counts of entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, violent entry and demonstrating in a Capitol building.
She appeared in a Zoom court hearing from attorney Robert Holley’s Sacramento office Monday, and Holley told U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman that Ehrke’s role in the events of that day were “fairly minimal.”
“That’s why she’s charged with misdemeanors and others are charged with felonies,” Friedman replied before setting her next court date for May 11.
Ehrke is one of three Sacramento-area residents facing charges in the insurrection at the Capitol. Tommy Allan of Rocklin and former Republican activist Jorge Riley also have been charged. None are in custody.
The trio are among more than 250 people who are facing prosecution in the Jan. 6 riot, and federal prosecutors are asking the judge in Ehrke’s case to issue a protective order covering evidence turned over to the defense to keep much of it from becoming public.
Much of the evidence gleaned by the FBI so far in a number of cases includes photos and other information from cell phones and other digital devices, financial records, confidential tips and sealed documents, and prosecutors are concerned about some materials becoming public before cases are brought to trial or resolved.
“Given the number of defendants charged and the number of open investigations, such discovery materials may include large volumes of highly sensitive private and confidential information of numerous individuals other than defendant, as well as materials which, if more widely disseminated, could jeopardize the government’s on-going investigations and the security of witnesses...,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Birney wrote in a motion that Ehrke’s attorney is not opposing.
The government notes that it expects to prosecute a wide array of crimes against individuals from across the nation, and that evidence continues to pour in.
“Multiple individuals charged or under investigation are: (a) charged or expected to be charged with crimes of violence; (b) associated with anti-government militia organizations and other groups (e.g., Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Cowboys for Trump) that deny the legitimacy of the United States government...,” Birney wrote.
He added that some suspects “have made statements indicating an intention to continue in similar violent endeavors until the current administration is overthrown.”
“In connection with the above-described cases and on-going investigations, law enforcement and the government have obtained and continue to obtain voluminous amounts of information and evidence relating to both charged and uncharged individuals,” he added.
