U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden handed down the verdict from the bench after hearing two days without a jury testimony in the trial of Kevin Seefried and his adult son, Hunter. McFadden convicted both Delaware men of committing a crime: obstructing a formal hearing, holding a joint congressional hearing to certify the Electoral College that day. The judge also convicted Seefried of misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and illegal demonstration inside the building. But he acquitted Hunter Seifrid of other misdemeanors for clearing a broken glass from a broken window in the Capitol. They will remain free pending separate hearings for sentencing in September. McFadden, who was nominated for trial by President Donald Trump in 2017, has presided over two previous trials for those accused of rioting at the Capitol. He acquitted one of all charges and partially acquitted another. Widely published photos showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol as he and Hunter Seefried, then 22, entered the building through a broken window. McFadden dismissed the defense argument that Kevin Seifrid never intended to interfere in congressional proceedings. “I think he knew what he was doing,” McFadden said. The judge described Kevin Seefreid as the “primary motive” for their decision to go to Washington on January 6. McFadden said Hunter Seefried’s guilt for the obstruction charge was a “narrower question,” but the judge concluded that the son was involved in “aggravated behavior” that supported a conviction. “Hunter Seifrid showed a pattern of deception and minimization of his actions” when an FBI agent interviewed him after the uprising, McFadden said. FBI agents say they have found no evidence linking Kevin Sifrind or his son to an extreme right-wing extremist group. Kevin Seefried told an agent he did not view the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hatred. The trial included the first public testimony of Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who has been praised for his bravery in the Jan. 6 attack by a mob of Trump supporters. Goodman drove a group of rioters away from the Senate as evacuees and then-Vice President Mike Pence were evacuated. He also instructed Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and get away from the mob. Goodman met Kevin Sifrind before the mob chased the officer up a series of stairs, a terrifying episode recorded on video. The officer said that senior Seefried insulted him and hit him with the tip of his flagpole three or four times without coming into contact with him. Another Capitol officer who confronted the mob near the Senate chamber recalled that Kevin Seefrid asked, “Why are you protecting them?” “I guess he was talking about Congress,” said Officer Brian Morgan. The Seefrieds were not charged with assaulting any officer. None of the defendants testified at their trial. The father and son traveled to Washington from their home in Laurel, Delaware, to listen to Trump speak at the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6. He was one of the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate wing, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden board to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a piece of glass in one of the broken windows, prosecutors said. But the judge found that two other riots had damaged the window before Seefried cleaned the fragment. McFadden convicted Seefried of four counts of misdemeanors: entering or staying in a building or restricted area, disorderly conduct or disturbing a building or restricted area, disorderly conduct or disturbing behavior in a Capitol building or premises, and parade, parade, or demonstration. . The judge acquitted Hunter Seefried of three other counts of misdemeanors: destruction of state property, entering and staying in a restricted building or premises with physical violence against property, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol or building. The Seefrieds, who waived their right to a jury trial, were the first defendants in the Capitol riots to stand trial for a felony. In April, McFadden acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanors for entering the Capitol illegally and engaging in disorderly conduct after entering the building. In March, McFadden acquitted a New Mexico elected official, Cui Griffin, of disorderly conduct, but convicted him of entering the Capitol area illegally. McFadden is scheduled to convict Griffin on Friday. Also Wednesday, a trial was concluded for Jesus Rivera, a Pensacola Florida man who was charged with four counts of rioting. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she plans to issue a written verdict later this week, according to Guy Womack, Rivera’s lawyer. McFadden criticized prosecutors for handling the Capitol riots. He argued that the Department of Justice was unfairly harsher with those accused of rioting at the Capitol compared to people arrested in protests against police violence and racial injustice following the assassination of George Floyd in 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer. More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the January 6 attack. Jurors unanimously convicted five people accused of rioting at the Capitol on all charges. More than 300 other defendants have pleaded guilty to rioting, mostly misdemeanors. About 100 others have test dates in 2022 or 2023.
