FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A Long Island man who stormed the Capitol and assaulted police officers on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty on Friday to 10 counts, the Department of Justice said.
Greg Rubenacker, 26, of Farmingdale, pleaded guilty to charges including assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding and committing an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds.
According to court documents, Rubenacker engaged in a series of confrontations with law enforcement inside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
At around 2:13 p.m. entered the Capitol Building through the Senate Wing Door, recording a video in which he stated, "This is history! We took the Capitol."
He was part of a crowd that yelled "where are they counting the votes" and was redirected by a Capitol Police officer who was securing the area.
Rubenacker allegedly left the building at 2:21 p.m. but returned 21 minutes later through the Rotunda Door. Inside the Rotunda, he smoked marijuana, recording another video that he later posted on social media with the caption, "Smoke out the Capitol, baby."
He and others resisted officers who attempted to remove them from the Rotunda. At around 3:08 p.m., he allegedly threw a plastic water bottle at an officer and sprayed water from his bottle across law enforcement officers engaging with other individuals.
Prosecutors said the defendant and others were pepper-sprayed. He left the Capitol at 3:20 p.m.
Rubenacker was arrested last February in Farmingdale, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Rubenacker, who reportedly works as a DJ, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, 2022.
The Justice Department said he faces up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, up to eight years in prison for assaulting law enforcement, and additional time for the other offenses. The charges also carry potential fines.
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