Dawsonville resident Benjamin Harry Torre looked around the U.S. Capitol office of Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley on Jan. 6, 2021, snapping some photos and commenting to people around him about the “wild” events of the day.
Just a few minutes earlier, Torre had been among the hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushing their way into the Capitol building. Torre, who had come to Washington, D.C., with his family to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally that day, entered the Capitol through a broken window.
On Wednesday, Torre, 24, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally demonstrating in the Capitol. He faces a possible six-month prison sentence and fines of up to $5,000 when U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras imposes sentence in July.
Torre is the ninth of Georgia’s 19 defendants in the Jan. 6 investigation to plead guilty.
Torre was arrested a month after the Capitol riot after he was identified from a photo taken from social media during the riot and circulated by the FBI. According to court records, an unidentified tipster recognized Torre and turned him in. The FBI found an Instagram account believed to belong to Torre’s brother that tagged Torre in Washington, D.C., the evening of Jan. 7.
“Did ya storm the capital (sic),” one user commented.
“No and I think it was wrong that we did,” the poster responded.
Unlike some charged in the massive investigation, Torre does not have ties to any extremist groups and did not assault police, although he told FBI agents “things got a little heated” when the crowd reached the Capitol, according to court documents.
Torre told agents he was following Trump’s directions to “peacefully march to the Capitol.”
Torre said little during Wednesday’s plea hearing aside from answering Contreras’ questions about his plea and getting clarification from the judge on the process.
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