Kane County man's plea deal for US Capitol riot shows how FBI is going after nonviolent participants

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A plea deal made by a suburban Chicago man is revealing how the government is targeting anyone who was inside the capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, whether they were violent or not.

Nicholas Von Keudell pleaded guilty Tuesday to two charges.

Prosecutors said Von Keudell went on a family riot outing that day, traveling from Chicago to Washington D.C. with his mother and his aunt for the Trump rally on Jan. 6 and Capitol Hill upheaval that followed.

The FBI is still searching for hundreds of people depicted in violent videos. They are also going after riot participants who were not in a rage that day, including the many people who simply barreled through with the crowd and ended up in an unauthorized area, surrounded by the intemperate.

Among them was Von Keudell, a resident of Kane County. His mother and aunt have already been convicted and sentenced for their participation.

Pictures gathered by the FBI show Von Keudell inside and outside the U.S. Capitol for an hour and a half, in restricted areas.

In a newly filed plea agreement, he admits having intended to disrupt Congress by joining the mob that breached the Capitol and that he engaged in disorderly or disruptive conduct.

"Here's someone who didn't throw any objects that a police officer, who didn't climb walls to get into the building. It didn't break into the Speaker of the House, his office, who didn't vandalize, who didn't commit violence, and Nevertheless, after many, many, many months, was tracked down by the government and prosecuted," said ABC7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer.

Soffer said Von Keudell is proof that violence isn't required for Jan. 6 charges.

"What stands out about this case is just how low level the conduct was. You don't have someone here who was threatening any officer in any obvious way," Soffer said. "You don't have someone who was part of a plot in advance to disrupt the proceedings in any clear way. It's really someone about whom the facts are really minimal. Nevertheless, the government charged him with misdemeanors and he pled guilty to those misdemeanors. It tells us just how broad and widely the government cast this net."

Von Keudell is among 43 Illinois residents facing Jan. 6 criminal cases. More than 1,200 people have been charged nationwide from almost all 50 states.

Pleading guilty as Von Keudell did is how more than half of all those charged have dealt with their cases.

More guilty pleas are likely to come in the next 10 days, as experts say rioters try to unburden themselves before the start of a new year.