FL Couple Pleads Guilty To Jan. 6 Capitol Breach Charges: DOJ

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Florida couple that stormed the U.S. Capitol together on Jan. 6, 2021, pleaded guilty Monday to felony and misdemeanor charges related to the breach of the building, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Jamie Buteau, 50, and Jennifer Buteau, 46 of Ocala were part of a mob that stormed the Capitol during a joint session of the U.S. Congress to count the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.

They entered their guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.

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Jamie Buteau pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, the DOJ said. His wife pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

The Buteaus traveled from their home in Florida to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the DOJ.

They entered the Capitol just before 2:30 p.m. through the U.S. Senate wing door after it had breached and a nearby window was broken by a crowd of rioters, the department said. Once inside, the couple moved with a large mob into a lobby separating the Crypt from the Capitol Visitors Center.

As they moved to the lobby, U.S. Capitol police officers tried to form a line to hold back the mob. Overwhelmed by the rioters, the officers retreated from the area and tried to pull down a set of rolling doors that would have protected them from the mob and separated the lobby from the Visitors Center.

When rioters blocked the doors to prevent them from closing, Jamie Buteau picked up a chair and threw it at the officers, the DOJ said. The chair bounced off the wall and hit one officer in the arm.

The couple then walked through the Capitol building, including the Visitors Center, orientation lobby and Crypt, before leaving through the House wing doors around 2:45 p.m.