TOLEDO, Ohio — Two people from Swanton facing charges for their participation in the U.S. Capitol insurrection last January accepted a plea deal Monday.
Madison Pettit and Gabriel Burress pleaded guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building, according to court records. The maximum penalty is six months in prison, five years probation and a $5,000 fine.
The couple was first charged in August 2021 in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
According to the FBI affidavit in the Burress/Pettit case, an online tip led the agency to the Swanton pair. The affidavit says the FBI compared known photographs of Pettit and Burress against images and video captured at the Capitol and located and viewed a video that appears to have been taken from a security camera located within the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6.
Footage from two security cameras providing coverage of the interior of the Capitol building from approximately 3:01-3:04 p.m. depicts individuals that match the appearance of Pettit and Burress inside the U.S. Capitol building. The individuals matching the appearance of Pettit and Burress are observed entering the U.S. Capitol from an exterior door at approximately 3:02-3:03 p.m.
On Aug. 12, both Burress and Pettis were interviewed outside their residence in Swanton. Burress identified himself and Pettit in pictures shown to him; these pictures were still frames taken from CCTV video footage from the interior of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
He then admitted traveling to the Capitol with Pettit and two other individuals. Burress stated that he heard others yelling that they were charging the building. He further said he followed the crowd to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and was pushed into the building by the crowd behind him. He said he was inside the U.S. Capitol Building for approximately 10 minutes.
Pettit likewise identified herself and Burress in pictures shown to her and admitted entering the building with a crowd of individuals after gates in front of them, which had been holding the protesters back, were removed. She indicated that she heard alarms go off and felt pepper spray in her lungs. She stated she was inside the U.S. Capitol Building for 10-15 minutes.
Two other people from Swanton, Jodi Lynn Wilson and Cole Temple, a mother and son, are facing similar charges.
UPDATE: This story has been updated with Cole Temple's correct name.