CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In front of a federal judge on Friday, Matthew Mark Wood of Rockingham County pleaded guilty to his involvement in the deadly attack on the US Capitol.
Wood changed his plea from not guilty to guilty to all six charges against him. He admitted to the judge he went into the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 "to obstruct the electoral vote count."
Judge Amit P. Mehta asked Wood if he was indeed the eighth person to enter the capitol through a broken window that day. Wood said yes.
Wood also confirmed to the judge he entered Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the riot and stayed in the building for more than an hour.
Below are the counts Wood pleaded guilty to:
- obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting
- entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- entering and remaining in certain rooms in the capitol
- disorderly conduct in a capitol building
- parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building
Wood's defense attorney told the judge as the hearing wrapped up that "this has been an unprecedented negotiation...it really wasn't a negotiation."
In charging documents, Wood called the FBI on Jan. 25, 2021 to tell them he was on the list of the agency's list wanted in connection to the US Capitol attack.
The next day, FBI agents came to Wood's North Carolina home and interviewed him. Wood said he was at the capitol on Jan. 6 and signed a picture of himself.
During his interview with investigators, Wood admitted he went into the capitol that day, but claimed he did not intend to march on the capitol building or disrupt the Electoral Ballot certification.
Wood also told the FBI agents he "entered the U.S. Captiol to avoid being trampled." He also admitted he went into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the attack.
During the FBI's investigation into Wood's alleged involvement, agents obtained two Facebook posts made by Wood.
The posts, according to investigators, corroborate that Wood was at the capitol during the Jan. 6 attack. In the posts, Wood "boasts about a 'necessary revolt' against a 'tyrannical government...'" according to charging documents.
While some of the accused Capitol rioters have reached plea deals with the federal government, Wood seems to have not been one of those individuals.
According to reporting from WUSA, at least two other Capitol riot defendants pleaded guilty to all of the charged against them.
Wood will be sentenced on Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. He faces several years in prison.