A once top-editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper based in Brooklyn, Elliot Resnick, pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement’s efforts to hold off the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, this past Tuesday.
Resnick, 40, of Manhattan, has entered the plea to a felony count of blocking police officers during a civil disorder, before Judge Rudolph Contreras of Federal District Court in Washington.
The Jewish Press, which began publishing in 1960, describes itself on the outlet’s website as “the largest independent weekly Jewish newspaper in the United States,” and “politically incorrect long before the phrase was coined.”
Once Politico reported in April of 2021 that Resnick, who began working at The Jewish Press in 2006 and was a top editor at the time, had been a part of the Jan. 6 riots, the paper’s editorial board published a statement saying he had been in Washington to cover the day’s events as a reporter.
“The Jewish Press does not see why Elliot’s personal views on former President Trump should make him any different from the dozens of other journalists covering the events, including many inside the Capitol building during the riots,” the editorial board wrote.
Despite the publication’s support of Resnick, he was still replaced by Shlomo Greenwald as top editor in May of 2021. Greenwald has not commented on Resnick’s charges.
Court records cited by the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday reveal that Resnick had not been working as a journalist on Jan. 6- instead he was in fact in the crowd of people scuffling with police officers trying to hold the mob back. According to the records, Resnick also grabbed an officer’s arm to keep them from dousing rioters with pepper spray.
The report also reads that Resnick assaulted a police officer who was trying to prevent people from entering the Capitol, and then proceeded to make his way in by force and allowed other rioters to enter by pulling them in the building past other officers.
“Once inside the Capitol, Resnick proceeded to different areas, joining groups of rioters in the Grand Rotunda, the hallway outside the House Chamber, the Crypt, and the Capitol Visitor Center. At approximately 2:45 p.m., Resnick returned to the East Rotunda Doors, both of which were now fully open, and gestured and beckoned for other rioters outside the building to come inside. Resnick also once again reached across the threshold and pulled rioters into the building. Court documents say that he repeated this process several times and patted other rioters on the back in a congratulatory manner as he successfully helped them to enter the building,” the report reads.
After helping others inside the Capitol, Resnick reportedly took pictures of himself and the destructive surroundings inside. Shortly after, the police began pushing rioters out of the Grand Rotunda, but Resnick remained in the building until 3:14 p.m., and then on the restricted grounds outside of the Capitol until 4:18 p.m. before leaving the private property, as cited by the court records.
Clay Kaminsky, a federal public defender who is representing Resnick, has declined commenting on the case.
Resnick is one of 1,265 people to be charged in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, as recorded by the Justice Department. In a separate case of the week, Lee Giobbie, 40, from New Jersey, was charged with several felonies and misdemeanors for what prosecutors say was his role in the insurrection.
Donald Trump, whose supporters stormed the Capitol in reaction to his loss of the 2020 presidential election, still faces federal conspiracy and other charges from the riot which he has pleaded not guilty to.
Resnick is scheduled to sentenced this coming June.
