A California GOP group gave an insurrectionist who stormed the US Capitol a trophy and posed for photos with him

• A California GOP organization honored a Capitol rioter for his years of service on its board.
• Jorge Riley bragged about breaching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on January 6 in an interview.
• Riley, holding a trophy, posed for a photo with members of the Sacramento Republican Assembly.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A conservative group in California honored an insurrectionist who stormed the Capitol on January 6 with a trophy. 

In a Facebook post published this week, Jorge Riley, who participated in the Capitol riot, is seen posing for a picture with members of the Sacramento Republican Assembly, a group made up of conservative activists. 

In the photo, Riley holds a trophy, presented to him by the group in celebration of his long tenure on its board. 

Riley is “honored by the Sacramento Republican Assembly (SRA) for serving 11 years on the executive board including being elected to 6 terms as president!” read the post, published online by California Republican Assembly (CRA) national committeeman Bill Cardoza. 

“Local SRA and California Republican Assembly (CRA) leaders gathered to pay tribute to Jorge for both his service on the SRA as well as the CRA board of directors,” Cardoza’s post said.

Riley, 41, resigned from his post with the California Republican Assembly, the parent organization to the local Sacramento chapter, after his involvement with the Capitol riot became public. Previously, he had been a former president of the SRA and the corresponding secretary for the CRA, according to the Sacramento Bee, which first reported this story.

The Capitol riot left at least five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys, which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were reportedly present.

Organizers were emboldened by President Donald Trump’s calls to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. While members of Congress were meeting inside the Capitol to certify the results, supporters organized an attempted coup and stormed it.

Upon news that the riot breached the building, lawmakers began to shelter in place and many evacuated.

A federal grand jury indicted Riley on February 3. He faced numerous charges, including disorderly conduct and demonstrating in a Capitol building, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Riley pleaded not guilty and was released from custody. Prosecutors said he had published dozens of messages and photos demonstrating his involvement in the Capitol riot on social media. He has an upcoming court hearing scheduled for April 21. 

Craig DeLuz, a spokesperson for the California Republican Assembly, told the Sacramento Bee that the parent organization is “concerned” about Riley having been honored in this way. 

“As a political organization, we want to set an example for how you engage in political discourse, and Jorge’s actions were not how we believe you should be engaging in political discourse,” DeLuz said. 

“It’s one of the reasons he was asked to resign from the CRA,” he added.

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