A Pennsylvania man who was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to entering the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot died by suicide on Friday.
Matthew Perna pleaded guilty on Dec. 9 to charges related to him entering and remaining inside the Capitol building for about 20 minutes during the riot. He was not charged with engaging in any acts of direct violence.
Perna’s obituary posted on the John Flynn Funeral Home said he died Friday “of a broken heart.”
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“He attended the rally on January 6, 2021, to peacefully stand up for his beliefs. After learning that the FBI was looking for him, he immediately turned himself in,” the obituary read. “He entered the Capitol through a previously opened door (he did not break in as was reported) where he was ushered in by police. He didn’t break, touch, or steal anything. He did not harm anyone, as he stayed within the velvet ropes taking pictures.”
Perna was set to be sentenced in early March, but prosecutors motioned on Feb. 11 to delay his sentencing to April 1 to give them more time to ensure that all Jan. 6 defendants facing similar charges are “treated in the same manner.”
Perna’s aunt, Geri Perna, told American Greatness that the sentencing delay “broke” him.
“They broke him. They mentally broke him,” Geri Perna said. “He had run out of hope. I know he couldn’t take it anymore.”
Perna hanged himself in his garage Friday evening, American Greatness reported.
Perna and his family viewed the motion to delay sentencing for a month as bad news, according to American Greatness, which noted that the prosecutor handling Jan. 6. cases, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, has sought lengthy prison sentences for defendants who plead guilty to the same charges Perna pleaded guilty to.
“The constant delays in hearings, and postponements dragged out for over a year. Because of this, Matt’s heart broke and his spirit died, and many people are responsible for the pain he endured,” Perna’s obituary reads. “Matt did not have a hateful bone in his body. He embraced people of all races, income brackets, and beliefs, never once berating anyone for having different views.”
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Perna’s attorneys did not return requests for comment.
