Demonstrators break the glass on a door to the Oregon State Capitol during a special legislative session in December 2020. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)
An Albany man accused of attacking journalists during a violent protest last December at the Oregon Capitol accepted a plea deal on Dec. 9 and was sentenced to a month in jail.
Jeremy Wayne Roberts, 40, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mischief, harassment and menacing in Marion County Circuit Court.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation. He may receive credit for time served on the jail sentence, according to a judgment. A riot charge and second menacing charge were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Roberts was accused of “engaging in violent, tumultuous and threatening behavior,” damaging a glass door on the right side of the Capitol the afternoon of Dec. 21, court records show. He was also accused of harassing Statesman Journal photographer Brian Hayes.
Roberts pleaded guilty in August 2019 to menacing in Marion County Circuit Court and was sentenced to a week in jail and two years of probation. He had punched a wall above the head of his then girlfriend, a probable cause statement reads.
Roberts was one of at least five people arrested by the Oregon State Police for crimes related to the event. A demonstration organized by Joey Gibson brought an estimated 200 people to the Capitol as legislators met in special session. Several demonstrators, demanding the state rescind Covid restrictions, made their way into the Capitol, which was closed to the public at the time.
State police said officers were sprayed with a chemical agent by a demonstrator while they were inside the Capitol.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
