Californian facing 20 years after guilty plea in January 6 coup d’état attempt

A Riverside, Calif. man who entered a guilty plea this week could be sentenced to a 20-year jail term for his role in former President Donald Trump’s coup d’éta attempt on January 6, 2021.

Andrew Alan Hernandez, 45, entered his plea to aiding and abetting in the obstruction of an official proceeding on Wednesday, September 21, at the Federal District Court in Washington D.C. Along with others. Hernandez disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election and intended to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

According to evidence gathered against Hernandez was a Trump’s Ellipse rally, then joined other insurrectionists and marched to the Capitol.  While he was there, at approximately 1:59 p.m., the mob pushed down the barricades and moved forward.

At approximately 2:37 p.m. when the East Rotunda Door was initially breached, Hernandez entered the Capitol, made his way to the Senate Gallery, where he remained until approximately 2:45 p.m. He took a few “selfies” of himself inside the Senate Gallery and then departed, leaving the Capitol through the Rotunda Door at about 2:51 p.m.

Hernandez was arrested on Feb. 25, 2021, in Riverside, California, and will be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2023. He faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

In the 20 months since Jan. 6, 2021 coup attempt, more than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the insurrection, including over 265 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation is ongoing.