Santa Fe man charged in Capitol riot

Victoria Traxler, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Apr. 23—A Santa Fe man faces federal charges after allegedly participating in the January riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in federal court.

Matthew Martin, 42, faces multiple charges, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly conduct that impedes the conduct of government business; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol buildings.

Cellphone records show Martin's phone was in the area at the time of the Jan. 6 incident, according to a complaint filed by FBI Agent Travis Taylor.

On Jan. 20, Martin went to a local FBI office and confessed to being in the crowd that illegally entered the U.S. Capitol, the complaint states.

He told the FBI that "after reading then-President [Donald] Trump's tweets regarding the election being stolen," he decided to fly to Washington, D.C., to attend a protest. During the riot, Martin said, Capitol guards opened the doors and he entered the Capitol along with a crowd of other people. But he "realized later" the protests were worse than he thought and came back home to New Mexico.

Martin provided the FBI with receipts from his flights, along with photographs and videos he took Jan. 6, the complaint states. Some of those photos included selfies of Martin wearing a Trump face mask on the National Mall near the Capitol, the complaint states. He was also captured on surveillance footage from the event.

Martin isn't the only New Mexico man to be charged in the riot. On April 7, Shawn Bradley Witzemann of Farmington faced similar criminal charges, but court records indicate his case was terminated Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Frank Fisher, an FBI spokesman, declined to comment because the case is now being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington did not respond to inquires.

When a reporter knocked on Martin's door Thursday, no one answered.

Martin was taken into custody Thursday. His first hearing is scheduled for Friday morning via a virtual link before Magistrate Judge Kirtan Khalsa of the U.S. District Court of New Mexico.

Martin has no significant criminal history in New Mexico aside from a harassment charge in 2017 that was later dismissed.