Virginia men not guilty of interfering with 2020 election, but convicted on gun charges

Antonio LaMotta, 63, a resident of Chesapeake, and Joshua Macias, 44, from Virginia Beach, were arrested in November 2020 outside a ballot counting location in Philadelphia carrying handguns. Inside their silver Hummer adorned with a QAnon sticker, police found an assault-style rifle and ammunition.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for December. Carrying a gun without a license is a third-degree felony in Pennsylvania, punishable by up to seven years in prison. LaMotta told reporters after the trial they didn’t do anything wrong and intend to appeal.

Authorities allege that both men were part of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and LaMotta still has charges outstanding for entering the Capitol building during the riot.

LaMotta and Macias were arrested in November 2020 outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where officials were counting mail-in ballots. Authorities charged them with three felonies: carrying a firearm without a license, interference with an election and conspiracy, and two misdemeanors: carrying firearms in public and hindering the performance of election officials.

Police found an assault-style rifle and 160 rounds of ammunition in the Hummer. LaMotta carried a Beretta 9mm pistol on his hip, and Macias wore a Beretta 40-caliber pistol concealed under his jacket, police said.

One of the two men did not have a permit to conceal his firearm, police said at the time. The other had a Virginia license, but Pennsylvania does not recognize Virginia permits. It’s unclear which defendant had a permit.

Judge Lucretia Clemons found the two guilty on the two gun charges but cleared them on three election interference charges.

LaMotta said after the trial they would appeal.

“We didn’t do anything; we didn’t try to do anything here,” LaMotta said, according to NBC affiliate WCAU.

Macias and LaMotta attended right-wing events in Richmond, and Macias co-founded an organization called Vets for Trump.

Earlier this year, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner accused Macias of helping plan the Capitol insurrection. A documentary video purports to show Macias meeting with two of the riot’s planners.

Inside an underground parking garage, Macias spoke to Enrique Tarrio, head of extreme right-wing group Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, an organizer of another group that entered the Capitol, the Oath Keepers. Tarrio and Rhodes have been charged with seditious conspiracy.

In August, the FBI arrested LaMotta, claiming he entered the Capitol during the riot. Surveillance video and body camera footage from Capitol Police apparently shows LaMotta pushing his way into the building along with others.

Authorities charged him with misdemeanors of entering a restricted building, violent entry in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building.