First “Not Guilty” Verdict Achieved in a Felony January 6 Case

Tuesday September 13, 2022

On Tuesday, David Mehaffie became the first person in the country charged with a felony in connection to the January 6 protests to be found “not guilty.” Mehaffie was charged with "aiding and abetting" assaults by others on federal law enforcement officers, corruptly obstructing a Congressional proceeding, civil disorder, and two misdemeanors for being unlawfully inside the Capitol.

After five days of testimony, including more than four hours of testimony by Mehaffie himself, United States District Judge Trevor McFadden entered a verdict of "Not Guilty" on the count of corruptly obstructing Congress. “Obstructing Congress” carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 tears, the most serious charge that Mehaffie was facing.

Additionally, Judge McFadden expressly found that Mehaffie did not "aid and abet" anyone with regard to assaults committed against federal law enforcement officers. But the statute under which he was charged covers conduct much broader than "assault" -- it also covers conduct that obstructs, impedes, interferes with, etc., federal law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties. The Judge found that Mr. Mehaffie's conduct did "aid and abet" others in their efforts to obstruct, impede, etc., federal law enforcement officers as they attempted to prevent protesters from entering the Capitol.

Attorney William Shipley with the support of Ryan Marshall represented Mehaffie at his trial and are gratified to have secured a “not guilty” verdict in the case, though much work remains to be done. Sentencing is set for January 26, 2023.