A South Jersey man whose father boasted about relieving himself on Pelosi’s desk pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges

A Gloucester County construction worker who tussled with officers outside the Capitol building and an Atlantic City man whose father boasted that he and his son could have defecated on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from their participation in the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

Like many of the rioters, both Peter Michael Krill, 55, of Sewell, and James Rahm III, 29, of Atlantic City, were eventually identified in part through videos they posted to their social media accounts.

Each man is now facing the prospect of prison time after admitting involvement in the historic attack during separate hearings before federal judges Tuesday in Washington.

» READ MORE: N.J. construction worker who shoved cop, lit up a cigar during Capitol riot sentenced to prison

Krill, the owner of Sewell-based PMK Construction, first came to the attention of FBI agents after a tipster flagged video he’d posted to his TikTok account of the brawling that broke out along the scaffolding that had been set up on the north side of the Capitol building.

He later surfaced in body camera footage from one of the officers that depicted Krill grabbing a police barricade and pulling it aside, allowing a group of rioters to push past officers and toward the Capitol building.

Security camera footage shows Krill — in a long beard, camouflage military helmet, goggles, and a Trump 2020 sweatshirt, and waving an American flag — in the Capitol Rotunda later that afternoon. Prosecutors estimate that he spent roughly an hour inside the Capitol during the chaos before finally leaving the building.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of impeding law enforcement during a civil disorder, a felony crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

» READ MORE: South Jersey father and son sentenced to probation for role in Capitol riot

Rahm’s guilty plea comes a year after his father — James Rahm Jr., 64, of Philadelphia — was found guilty at trial from charges arising from his participation in the attack. He was sentenced to a year in prison in January.

The father and son traveled together to Washington on Jan. 6. As Rahm III, who also goes by the nickname “J.D.,” told U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper on Tuesday, he went primarily to film footage of the Trump rally on the National Mall earlier that day and was separated from his father as they marched toward the Capitol building.

But it was video he filmed and posted to his Snapchat account that caught the attention of tipsters who alerted the FBI.

“Oh my f— God, we just stormed the Capitol,” Rahm III shouted in one clip posted just moments before he entered the building.

» READ MORE: A Philly police contractor was let go for allegedly attacking cops during Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Video posted to Twitter showed Rahm III at the forefront of a crowd of people inside the Capitol who forced officers away from one of the Capitol’s exterior doors and opening them to allow dozens of other rioters inside. Among those who gained entry through that means was Rahm Jr.

Though Rahm Jr. deleted all his own social media posts from Jan. 6 in the days after the attack, investigators later uncovered text messages in which he boasted of entering Pelosi’s office with his son.

“I pissed in her office,” he texted one friend, according to an exchange quoted in government court filings. “My son’s got video.”

He texted another man: “We breached the Capitol. Jay-Z [an autocorrection for J.D.] could [have defecated] on Pelosi’s desk.”

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Prosecutors have said they have no evidence to suggest that Rahm Jr.’s talk of relieving himself inside the House speaker’s office was anything more than idle boasting.

“When I put my foot over that threshold, my stomach dropped to the floor. I knew only a terrorist should be there,” he told U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan at his sentencing in January.

Still, his son’s guilty plea Tuesday to one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in a restricted area could now result in his incarceration for as long as one year.

In all, 27 New Jersey residents have been convicted of playing a role in the riot, which caused millions of dollars in damage, left scores of officers injured, and threatened to interrupt the peaceful transition of presidential power.

Both Krill and Rahm III are scheduled for sentencing in January.