South Jersey defendant expected to admit guilt to Capitol riot charge

Jim Walsh, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Updated ·4 min read
2

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A South Jersey man is expected to admit guilt to his role in the U.S. Capitol riot.

James D. Rahm III, 29, of Atlantic City is to appear at a plea agreement hearing on Oct. 10, according to a scheduling order from a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

Terms of the proposed agreement are not included in court filings.

Rahm allegedly accompanied his father, James D. Rahm Jr., to Washington, D.C., for a rally held by then President Donald Trump before the Jan. 6., 2021, riot, according to a statement of facts with a criminal complaint.

The younger Rahm, known as JD, entered the Capitol after Trump's speech and joined in overpowering officers who were trying to block an interior door, the statement alleges.

Charge: J.D. Rahm recorded violence in Capitol

It says he also used a GoPro camera to film violence against police officers inside the Capitol, and recorded rioters in the Rotunda and the office suite of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A video allegedly filmed by James D. Rahm III of Atlantic City shows rioters trying to force their way through a door during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
A video allegedly filmed by James D. Rahm III of Atlantic City shows rioters trying to force their way through a door during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

A video on a social media platform showed Rahm III joining rioters who were trying to push back law enforcement at an interior door, so that a large crowd could enter the Capitol.

"In this video, an individual is seen and heard calling for more people to 'push' and 'let them in," the statement says. "Shortly after, JD Rahm III is seen forcefully entering the frame and leaning on the person in front of him, while holding up his GoPro camera."

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It says Rahm later went outside "and met with his father who told him that he too was inside the U.S. Capitol."

Investigators first identified the elder Rahm as a suspect after a tipster reported the father had posted on Facebook, then deleted, photos of himself with his son in Washington. D.C.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the family home in February 2021, when Kelly Rahm, the mother of J.D. Rahm consented to a search of her phone.

A text exchange on the phone included a photo of the father and son in Washington, D.C., with the response from Kelly Rahm: "That's so GREAT. Don't post JD's pic plz."

"No I just deleted it because I want it off my phone. I'm deleting my Facebook also," her husband responded.

The elder Rahm was arrested that same day in Philadelphia.

Capitol riot defendant James D. Rahm III, left, and his father, convicted rioter James D. Rahm Jr., appear in a photo texted to a family member. The elder Rahm noted he was deleting his photos after the riot, but the image remained on the recipient's phone.
Capitol riot defendant James D. Rahm III, left, and his father, convicted rioter James D. Rahm Jr., appear in a photo texted to a family member. The elder Rahm noted he was deleting his photos after the riot, but the image remained on the recipient's phone.

SnapChat account provided evidence against Capitol riot suspect

Separately, a tipster reported riot video from a GoPro camera on a SnapChat account with the letters "jd" in the user name.

According to the statement, SnapChat identified the younger Rahm as the account's operator.

Photos and videos also show the father and son in the Capitol, the statement says.

The younger Rahm was arrested in March 2021 in Northfield, Atlantic County. An indictment charged him with a felony count of civil disorder, as well as four misdemeanor offenses.

Rahm, who is not in custody, was expected to face trial beginning Oct. 10.

But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper changed the session on that date to a plea hearing at the request of Rahm's attorney and a prosecutor.

"The government has formally extended a plea offer to the defendant, who has advised the plea offer is acceptable," both sides said in a motion to vacate Rahm's earlier plea of not guilty.

Rahm's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Riot suspect's father has appealed his sentence

James Rahm Jr., with addresses in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, was found guilty at an October 2022 bench trial in which each side agreed to an account of his actions.

He was sentenced to one year in prison for a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding.

The father is appealing his prison term.

The elder Rahm also was convicted of the four misdemeanor counts facing his son — entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Atlantic City man accepts plea offer in Capitol riot case, filing says