# Have there been any acquittals of J6 rioters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855 "2023-09-09T22:32:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/1 "2023-09-09T22:32:14Z")
I’ve seen lots of articles about how many convictions there have been of J6 rioters. Have there been any acquittals? By either jury or judge alone? Just interested in numbers, not debate. . ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/2 "2023-09-09T22:45:18Z")
Case by case information is here: [Department of Justice - Capitol Breach Cases](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases) Unless I missed it, there has been just one full acquittal, and it was a bench trial: [Matthew Martin becomes first January 6 defendant to be found not guilty on all charges](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matthew-martin-january-6-defendant-not-guilty/) I am unclear as to whether there have been mixed verdicts, with defendants guilty on some charges and innocent on others. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/3 "2023-09-09T22:50:42Z")
Thanks. Yes there have been some mixed results. I think one of the Proud Boys, for instance, was acquitted on some of the most serious charges. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/4 "2023-09-09T23:00:16Z")
An actor named James Beeks is another who has been acquitted of all charges. [https://www.courthousenews.com/in-rare-move-federal-judge-acquits-jan-6-defendant/](https://www.courthousenews.com/in-rare-move-federal-judge-acquits-jan-6-defendant/) I think he’s the [same actor](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/james-t-justis-532383) who has four credits in the Internet Broadway Database. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/5 "2023-09-09T23:25:38Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > An actor named James Beeks is another who has been acquitted of all charges. This means the first link in the thread is flawed. The document has more recent events than that, so it looks like someone, on a Department of Justice web team, missed that one. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/6 "2023-09-09T23:40:07Z")
This is relevant: [Broadway actor acquitted](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/12/broadway-actor-oath-keeper-acquitted-00105986) > [@](#): > > One other Oath Keeper, Michael Greene, was acquitted of all felony counts he faced, though a jury convicted him on a single misdemeanor count. > > What made Beeks’ acquittal more remarkable was that it came after he largely stipulated to the actions the government accused him of taking, a negotiated set of facts that typically is the equivalent of a guilty plea. But Mehta, after reviewing the facts, said the evidence simply wasn’t sufficient to sustain a conviction. Both full acquittals were bench trials. I’ve read that, despite so many defendants going for a jury trial, bench trials have a lower conviction rate: [Why Are Federal Judges So Acquittal Prone?](https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=law_lawreview) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-any-acquittals-of-j6-rioters/989855/7 "2023-09-09T23:46:01Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > bench trials have a lower conviction rate: Bench trials are often requested because there’s a valid technical defense. A defendant might think a jury would ignore that. (or just want to save time and money and get that defense decided by the judge.) A client of mine waived a jury trial on a vehicular homicide case because the facts were terrible, but the State truly couldn’t prove that the accident was caused by his being drunk. (the pedestrian darted in front of him on a dark rural road). A jury would have convicted. So, you get more acquittals before the judges than juries because of the cases defendants choose to put before the judge.