NJ Man Who Gave TV Interview After Jan. 6 Riots Pleads Guilty

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A Mercer County man who gave a TV interview after storming the U.S. Capitol last year, pleaded guilty to his role Thursday in federal court.

Thomas Baranyi pleaded guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building and as part of this plea agreement, faces a prison sentence of up to six months, reported the AP.

Baranyi, 30, was born and raised in Hamilton and lives in Ewing Township. After the Jan. 6 riots, he gave an interview to a reporter from WKRG, a CBS affiliate, saying he was near Ashli Babbit when she tried climbing through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby.

Holding out his bloodstained hands, he told the reporter he was there when Babbitt was fatally shot by the police. "We had stormed into the chambers inside and there was a young lady who rushed through the windows," Baranyi said in the interview.

"It could have been me, but she went in first," Baranyi said in the interview. He was arrested by Federal authorities a week later. Read More: NJ Man Who Saw Fatal Shooting In DC Riots Arrested: Officials

Baranyi graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2017, and joined the Peace Corps, serving in Albania, reported NJ.com. He is expected to be sentenced in May.

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