Shawn Witzemann, a New Mexico man facing four misdemeanor charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, has decided not to go through with a planned plea deal with the government, after another Jan. 6 defendant was acquitted by a federal judge on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said it was "not unreasonable" for the defendant, Matthew Martin, to believe that law enforcement officials were letting some protesters inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, and ruled prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly entered a restricted area. This was the first acquittal of a Capitol riot defendant.
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