He was found not guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting.
He is due back in court on Jan. 27 for sentencing.
Mehaffie and two other defendants, Patrick McCaughey III of Connecticut and Tristan Stevens of Florida, were found guilty of crimes related to the Capitol breach after a bench trial, court records show. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden rendered the verdicts.
A message sent to Mehaffie’s attorney, William Shipley, wasn’t returned. In a pretrial brief, Shipley wrote that Mehaffie was not accused of personally assaulting any law enforcement officer. Prosecutors also wrote in their pretrial brief that Mehaffie wasn’t charged with physically assaulting any officer with his own hands, but he was charged with aiding and abetting.
“It was Mehaffie’s direction and encouragement that assisted and enabled other members of the mob to more efficiently channel their collective efforts against the line of officers at the entrance,” the brief says.
Mehaffie was one of more than 10 people from the Dayton area who were charged in connection with the Capitol riot.
Others who were charged from the area include Jessica Watkins and Donovan Crowl of Champaign County; Bennie and Sandra Parker of Warren County; Stephanie and Brandon Miller of Bradford; Timothy Hart of Huber Heights; Therese Borgerding of Piqua; Walter Messer of Englewood; Terry Lindsey of Piqua; and Jared Samuel Kastner of Beavercreek.
Watkins appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing. A trial in her case is set for the end of the month. The Millers and Lindsey entered guilty pleas in their cases while the other cases are still pending trial.
In the case against Mehaffie, prosecutors said he and his co-defendants were with the crowd on the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol Building.
“Officers of the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department guarded the entrance door to the Capitol from the mob — including McCaughey, Stevens and Mehaffie — for several hours,” a release from the office says. “Between 2:41 p.m. and 3:19 p.m., the three defendants attempted to break into the building by directing other rioters, participating in heave-hos against the police line, using riot shields stolen from the Capitol Police, and assaulting three specific officers.”
“Mehaffie hung from an archway and shouted direction from above, and McCaughey and Stevens were key players in the melee below,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “McCaughey grabbed a riot shield and used it as a weapon. Even after officers finally cleared the tunnel area, the three defendants illegally remained on Capitol grounds.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the men will be sentenced by the judge after considering guidelines and other factors. The judge ordered the government on Tuesday to provide a table comparing the sentences imposed against other defendants in similar cases.
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