US Capitol riots: Oklahoma man pleads guilty to stealing beer from Pelosi's office

In surprising updates relating to the US Capitol riots, a man from Okhloma pleaded guilty to stealing beer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. On Thursday, Andrew Ericson admitted to stealing beer besides participating in the illegal protest inside the Capitol building. Andrew has already confessed to participation in the Capitol riots, for which he could land up to six months in prison, which is a standard charge for non-violent rioters, CNN reported.

As a part of his plea, the 24-year-old stated that he "took a beer out of a mini-refrigerator" that was located "inside the Speaker's Conference Room." The plea deal came after a video Andrew live-streamed from inside the Capitol building on January 6. As per the video shared by the FBI with the court, Andrew was seen pulling a bottle of Corona Light in the Speaker's room.

Andrew will be handed down a sentence by a district judge on December 10. Meanwhile, it is unclear as to what punishment the aforementioned crime amounts to.

On the other hand, as of Thursday afternoon, 615 people have been booked for illegal demonstrations inside a federal infrastructure. At least 75 have pleaded guilty in regards to the insurrection. The rioters were charged with "assault, civil disorder and disorderly conduct, unlawful authority" in the Capitol building, "disruptive conduct, parade and demonstrations" on federal property. Additionally, few protestors like Benjamen Scott Burlew from were charged with assault in maritime and territorial jurisdiction and an act of physical violence on restricted grounds."                        

The January 6 US Capitol attack

On January 6, 2021, over 500 sympathisers of Republican President Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol in Washington DC. They sought to overturn his defeat in the 2020 Presidential elections by disrupting the joint session of the Congress assembled to determine the electoral votes. The said vote count officially formalised incumbent President Joe Biden's win. The rioters infringed the federal complex and vandalised the building for several hours. Since the attack, the FBI has launched a probe into the matter and about 570 arrested so far.

With inputs from AP and ANI

Image: AP/ Shutterstock (representative)