Jan. 6 Rioter Writes Letter to Senator Whose Office He Broke Into Claiming He Was Just Curious and Had ‘Zero Malicious Intent’
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A January 6 Capitol rioter wrote an apology letter of sorts to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), whose office he broke into on the day of the riot.
The letter was flagged by CBS News’ Scott MacFarlane on Monday, and while the rioter doesn’t throw out an actual apology, he does insist he had “no malicious intent” and entered the Capitol just for curiosity’s sake.
“Unfortunately I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time on January 6th, 2021, I entered the Capitol Building with zero harmful intent, just curiosity as to what was going on around me,” Francis Connor wrote.
After entering the Capitol, Connor said he took a turn and ended up in what he would later discover to be Merkley’s office. Rest assured, however, nothing was “vandalized” or “stolen” during the tour of curiosity, he claimed, writing that he only looked through some of the senator’s books.
“As I walked in to an open door on my left, I found myself in a senator’s office which I later found out to be yourself. Nothing was stolen or vandalized, I was just caught on a live feed looking through some books on your bookshelf,” he wrote.
Connor further claimed that if he knew it was a senator’s office, he never would have entered, despite having just also entered the Capitol.
“If I knew that was a senator’s office, I wouldn’t have entered because I hold our country’s politicians in the highest regard,” he wrote.
Capitol breach defendant has written apology letter to Sen Jeff Merkley (D-OR), whose office was ransacked on Jan 6
Here it is ====> pic.twitter.com/J33TCEH1uS
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 29, 2022
Connor pled guilty in April to multiple crimes, including entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Connor’s lawyer said the apology letter was written because the rioter feels so “ashamed.”
“Francis is ashamed that he disrespected Senator Merkley by traipsing through his office,” John J. Gilsenan said, according to Business Insider. Connor’s legal team has also stated he only spent 10 minutes inside the Capitol on the day of the riot after entering through an open window.
