Sacramento GOP activist arrested in Capitol riot wins release from D.C. jail

Jorge Aaron Riley, the only Sacramento-area suspect in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot being held in custody, won his release Wednesday pending trial despite objections from federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta granted Riley’s release following a hearing in Washington, D.C., in which a federal prosecutor warned the former Sacramento Republican official was a flight risk and danger to the community.

“It is difficult to fathom a more serious danger to the community — to the District of Columbia, to the country, or to the fabric of American Democracy — than the one posed by someone who joined other insurrectionists to occupy the United States Capitol and publicly flaunted his obstructive behavior,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards argued in a filing opposing Riley’s release. “Every person who was present without authority in the Capitol on January 6 contributed to the chaos of that day and the danger posed to law enforcement, the United States Vice President, Members of Congress, and the peaceful transfer of power.

“The defendant’s specific conduct helped energize that chaos and danger. Make no mistake: the fear the defendant helped spread on January 6 persists. No combination of conditions could reasonably assure the safety of the community and Riley’s compliance with Court orders.”

The judge was not persuaded, saying he appreciated the government’s “thoughtful and creative” arguments, but adding that he was not convinced Riley has the finances or intention to flee prosecution.

“Mr. Riley, after he flew to Washington, he went back home, he was in his apartment when he was arrested,” the judge said. “There’s no indication here that he has the means to avoid his court obligations.

“There’s just none of that here. Mr. Riley is living off of (Veterans Administration) benefits. According to his counsel he has no passport, he’s never traveled internationally.”

The judge told Riley to stay away from Washington D.C., except for court hearings or meeting with his lawyers, and ordered him not to possess any firearms or travel outside California’s Eastern District without permission.

Riley, 41, is the former corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly, as well as president of its Sacramento chapter, until he was asked to resign.

He was originally charged in a federal criminal complaint Jan. 18 and subsequently indicted by a grand jury Feb. 3 on charges of obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Riley pleaded not guilty Wednesday to those charges and the next hearing in his case was set for April 21.

Riley was arrested by the FBI at his Sacramento apartment and detained in the Sacramento County Main Jail until U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Delaney refused to allow his release in a Jan. 27 hearing and ordered him transferred to Washington.

“How I can predict whether he’s a serious risk of flight or likely to obstruct justice, and likely, for that matter, to obey the rules of the Court, is by looking at what he’s done,” Delaney said. “And what he did in this case, for whatever reason that you want to argue about, it concerns me greatly. My intention is to detain him.”

Court filings say Riley posted more than 150 messages, photograph and videos of his actions at the Capitol, including one where he wrote, “Hey We’re storming the Capitol…. what are you doing?”

“Then the defendant broke into the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of other rioters,” court documents say. “In a photograph of himself and others in the Capitol, he wrote, ‘I’m in the front where do you think I am.’ In over 100 photographs, the defendant documented where he and others unlawfully entered and rioted around the Capitol. Afterward, he gave a video-recorded interview outside the Capitol, detailing in his own words what he had just done.”

In that video, Riley explained his behavior inside the Capitol in detail, court filings say, including his contention that he and others had “stopped the steal” of the November presidential election.

“We broke windows, we went into the door, we pushed our way in, and then we just kept going further and further … we went into, there was like a corridor building…. We pushed our way to Nancy Pelosi’s office … and then we were sitting in there yelling ‘f--- you Nancy Pelosi’,” court filings say.

Two other Sacramento-area suspects in the siege of the U.S. Capitol have remained out of custody pending the outcome of their cases.

Valerie Ehrke of Arbuckle was charged Feb. 9 in an information with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, violent entry and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

A third suspect, Tommy Frederick Allan of Rocklin, was charged Feb. 2 in an information with theft of government property (a U.S. flag and government documents allegedly removed from the Senate chamber), entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and entering and remaining on the floor of Congress.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 2:06 PM.