{"id":32006,"date":"2023-09-14T15:35:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T19:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=32006"},"modified":"2023-09-14T15:39:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T19:39:41","slug":"self-proclaimed-native-republican-sentenced-to-prison-for-u-s-capitol-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/09\/14\/self-proclaimed-native-republican-sentenced-to-prison-for-u-s-capitol-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-proclaimed Native Republican sentenced to prison for U.S. Capitol attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Jorge<\/a>
Jorge Aaron Riley, center, exits the U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C, following his guilty plea on March 7, 2023. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Self-proclaimed Native Republican sentenced to prison for U.S. Capitol attack<\/div>\r\n
Jorge Riley finally admits knowing little about supposed heritage<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, September 14, 2023<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — \r\nA self-proclaimed Native Republican who admitted to breaking the law when he participated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol is headed to federal prison. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nJorge Aaron Riley was sentenced in federal court in Washington, D.C, on September 6. He was ordered to serve 18 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, according to online records, which state that he must “self-surrender” for his upcoming punishment.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPrior to the sentencing hearing, Riley’s attorney urged no prison time. A memorandum filed in court on September 1<\/a> described the criminal defendant as a “disabled veteran” who \r\ncame to the nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, at the behest of Republican former president Donald Trump.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Mr. Riley traveled to Washington and entered the Capitol at the urging of the President of the United States, whom he regarded as his Commander-in-Chief, because he believed the President\u2019s claim that the 2020 election was stolen,” the defense’s sentencing memorandum<\/a> reads.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Who\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWho is Jorge Riley? Self-described Native man boasted of role in U.S. Capitol riot\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

A self-described right-wing Native Republican boasted of taking part in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe filing further suggested that Riley might even be absolved his crime — by the very same person who encouraged the violent attack on the legislative branch of the United States government. Just last month, Trump was indicted for instigating<\/a> what’s been called “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n “More than two and a half years later, even with the former President under felony indictments in this district and elsewhere, millions of Americans continue to believe this claim and hope that President Trump will retake the White House, where he has vowed to pardon all the protestors he encouraged to come to Washington on January 6,” Riley’s attorney wrote.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe filing also elaborated — for the first time — on Riley’s supposed Native background. According to the defense attorney, the criminal defendant has little to no idea about his alleged heritage.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“He is an American Indian. He never knew his biological father and knows nothing about him today,” the memorandum reads.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Self-proclaimed\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSelf-proclaimed Native Republican Jorge Riley pleads guilty for U.S. Capitol attack\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

It took more than two years but a self-proclaimed Native Republican wore his \u201cbest Trump tie\u201d to court and finally admitted he committed a crime during a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBeyond describing himself as \u201cFrench-speaking Native American Messianic Jewish right-wing conservative Republican\u201d Riley has not stated whether he belongs to any tribal nation. His attorney’s use of “American Indian” in federal court is unusual in that term is typically used in cases in which a defendant belongs to a federally recognized tribe<\/a> or is considered to be part of a tribal community<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn March 7, Riley returned to Washington, D.C., for the first time since the riot and pleaded guilty to aiding the obstruction of an official proceeding. He admitted that he intended to stop the certification of the November 2020 presidential election that Trump lost to Democratic candidate Joe Biden.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nRiley was accompanied to the hearing in March by his partner and his mother, both of whom are non-Native and who appeared in photographs taken by Indianz.Com outside the federal courthouse. He shares a child with his partner, who had asked that no prison time be imposed.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“If Jorge is not present at home, it will tremendously burden us,” his partner Kellie Sue Morgan wrote in a letter<\/a> submitted in court. [PDF: Jorge Aaron Riley Letters of Support<\/a>]\r\n

<\/P>

<\/ins>