Arizona resident offered plea deal in Capitol riot

An Arizona resident who faces federal charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot has been offered a plea deal and has agreed to a plea hearing next month, his attorney told a federal judge Wednesday.

Phoenix resident and military veteran Micajah Joel Jackson, 25, faces criminal charges of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Jan. 6.

“I had discussed the plea offer with Mr. Jackson, and he wishes to accept it,” Maria Jacob, his attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office told Judge Randolph Moss during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Jackson was present via a video link but did not speak during the short hearing. Details on the plea offer have not yet been publicly disclosed; a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22.

Jackson, a lance corporal in the U.S. Marines who served from September 2015 until October 2017, was arrested in May as part of a sweeping federal investigation related to the Capitol riot. A 17page federal complaint alleged he was photographed walking with members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violent confrontations, outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. As the group neared the Capitol, the federal complaint alleges, Jackson walked next to an individual who yelled through a bullhorn, “Whose streets?” The group responds by yelling back, “Our streets.”

Photos show Jackson wearing an orange armband, which he said was given to him by the Proud Boys of Arizona.

The federal complaint said Jackson was part of a group that breached police barricades and flooded into the plaza. The insurrection sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and delayed Congress from certifying the presidential election of Democrat Joe Biden.

Videos and photos appear to show Jackson inside Capitol hallways and the National Statuary Hall, one of the most popular rooms in the U.S. Capitol.

In an interview with The Arizona Republic in May, Jackson said he was being politically prosecuted for documenting what unfolded on Jan. 6.

“I didn’t do anything violent. I didn’t hit a cop. I didn’t break a window,” he told The Republic.

In September, Jackson was among several dozen people who gathered on the lawn of the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix for a “Justice for January 6” rally. The event was a local version of the sparsely attended Washington, D.C., rally a week earlier.

The rally also was attended by a group of self-described Proud Boys — and by Jackson who, as a condition of his release from jail, promised a federal court judge he would not associate with the Proud Boys.

Jackson’s appearance at the rally was not mentioned during Wednesday’s court hearing.

Jackson told The Republic in May that he was in Ohio, visiting his family for the holidays last year when he heard about President Donald Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and decided to go. He said he has a strong interest in politics, government and American history.

“I expose political propaganda. I just wanted to go to document, research and interview,” he said.

Jackson describes himself as a Libertarian and said he voted for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee for president in 2016. He only became a Trump supporter in 2019.

“It was the fake impeachment that turned me off,” he said.

Jackson said he left Ohio on Jan. 5 — the same day he turned 25 — and arrived at a Virginia hotel about eight hours later, where he checked in and ate dinner with friends. The next day, he made his way to the National Monument where he took photos and video on his cell phone.

He told The Republic the Proud Boys gave him the orange tape to put around his arm because he was “documenting everything” on his cell phone. He was also carrying a backpack, which he said was filled with medical supplies.

He told The Republic he became separated from the group he was walking with and that the police barricades were already down when he made his way toward the U.S. Capitol. He said doors to the Capitol were open when he walked in. He saw police officers taking selfies with people and giving high-fives.

“If you look at those photos, you can see I’m using my phone. I look like a dumb tourist,” he said.

He said he spent less than 25 minutes inside.

Jackson said he has PTSD from two years spent in the U.S. Marine Corps. He said he decided to leave the building when he saw someone break glass inside. He said he saw police officers hit people and spray tear gas.