WASHINGTON — A New Hampshire man who federal prosecutors have linked to the neo-Nazi group NSC-131 pleaded guilty Thursday for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Richard Zachary Ackerman, of Salem, pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder and one misdemeanor count of theft of government property. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional felony count of assaulting police as well as two other misdemeanors.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6 Ackerman messaged someone he had gone to D.C. to “see the action in these riots/protests.” He later claimed to have been hit with tear gas and chemical irritants at the Capitol and bragged that he stole a police riot helmet as a “war trophy.”
Prosecutors said Ackerman was identified by a confidential human source who had attended a gathering of NSC-131 – the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Socialist Club 131 – where Ackerman, using the moniker “Zach Parker,” had talked about finding a U.S. Capitol Police helmet on the ground on Jan. 6. The source said Ackerman claimed he still had the helmet at his residence and that he had placed a “New England 131” sticker on it.
A search of Ackerman’s home later turned up the helmet, which was found in the fireplace of his bedroom with two NSC-131 stickers affixed to the back and face shield.
Prosecutors said images from Jan. 6 show Ackerman in the mob near the entrance of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel at around 4:30 p.m. while other rioters were attempting to breach a police line and enter the building. Photos included in charging documents show a man identified by the DOJ as Ackerman wearing a Capitol Police helmet while giving the finger toward the police line in the tunnel and throwing a water bottle toward police. Prosecutors say the bottle entered the mouth of the tunnel and struck an officer.
The FBI first received a tip about Ackerman’s identity as early as Jan. 8, 2021. A search warrant was executed on his home in New Hampshire in June 2022 and he was arrested and charged in connection with the riot a year later in June 2023.
Ackerman entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Thursday. He was scheduled for sentencing on July 25 at 10 a.m.