NORFOLK, Va. - A local man has pleaded guilty to his role in theJanuary 6 riots.
Ryan Seth Suleski pleaded guilty to two counts, Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds and Theft of Government Property.
According to officials, he lives in Norfolk. Documents say the morning of the riots he traveled from Norfolk to Washington, D.C., via car, with the purpose of attending President Trump's rally at the Ellipse.
About halfway through the rally, Suleski recalled that January 6th was the date Congress certified the election results and he decided to go to the Capitol.
When he arrived at the Capitol, officials say he climbed the outside steps on the west side of the building and observed confrontations between the police and rioters. He then witnessed the police utilizing chemical agents to keep the rioters at bay, and, according to a statement he provided to FBI agents later, he was shot with a rubber bullet by police during their attempts to prevent the rioters from entering the Capitol.
He then entered the Capitol building through the Upper West Terrace door and walked throughout the building. He attempted to open locked doors and peered into drawers and cabinets. When he arrived at the third-floor gallery near the House Appropriations Committee's Republican minority office, he saw papers lying on the ground outside of a closed door.
Suleski picked up those papers, looked through them, placed them into his backpack, and continued to walk through the Capitol.
According to documents, during his time inside, he saw fighting between officers and rioters at the Columbus Doors, where he paused to document some of the fightings with his phone. He was inside for about 15 minutes before leaving and taking the papers in his backpack with him.
After leaving, he was interviewed by the BBC where he told the reporter, "This nation wasn't founded on civility. This nation was founded on revolutionary activity. We became civil after the government realized that they got overwhelmed."
On his drive home, Suleski recorded a TikTok video in which he talked about how he "got a CS gas canister dropped on" him. He also stated, "today was f****** nuts. But we got our point across. We showed how weak their defense was. And we showed Congress that America is tired of being f****** quiet and that we're about that life."
He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14 at 10 a.m.
