Olive Branch man sentenced to 4 years in prison for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (WMC) - A Mid-South man will spend four years behind bars for his role in the riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.

Matthew Bledsoe, 38, was found guilty in July. His charges include the felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding, and four misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.

He was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release, to be served concurrently with his other sentences, which include two 12-month sentences and two six-month sentences.

Prosecutors say Bledsoe, who lives in Olive Branch, attended a rally on January 6 and illegally entered the Capitol building after scaling a wall and walking in through a fire door at the Senate Wing.

NBC News reports that Bledsoe argued that he was unaware that Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win when he stormed the Capitol. Despite having received updates from his wife and brother about congressional proceedings inside the Capitol on the day of the riot, he told jurors that he had no idea what lawmakers were doing.

When prosecutors confronted him with a text he sent to his wife, saying it was “good” that someone planted bombs near the Capitol, Bledsoe said he really didn’t mean “good.” He also claimed he didn’t really mean it when he wrote that he “stormed the Capitol.”

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