MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — On Christmas Eve 2020, Matthew Stickney reportedly searched Google for hotels near the U.S. Capitol.
After that, he typed in another lingering question, federal prosecutors alleged this month:
“How do I take my gun with me on a flight?”
In the first days of the New Year, he had a few more questions:
“Can I bring a gas mask on a plane?”
“Can I bring walkie talkies on a plane?”
“Can I carry a knife on a plane?”
And on the night of Jan. 6, 2021, the Mountlake Terrace man searched “boy that escalated quickly,” according to court papers.
Earlier that day, security footage caught Stickney among hundreds of others illegally entering the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory, according to charges filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C.
United States Capitol Police surveillance and Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera footage shows Matthew Stickney among a large group of rioters in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia)
Authorities arrested Stickney last week in Seattle. Federal prosecutors charged him on four counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Two of Stickney’s mobile devices, obtained via search warrant, placed the defendant “at least partially within the U.S. Capitol Building” for about 90 minutes on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, charges say.
The day before the insurrection, Stickney took a Delta flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Baltimore, according to charging papers.
Around 2:30 p.m. the next day, Stickney’s phone reportedly placed him at the Peace Monument on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, about half a mile from the Capitol.
Fifteen minutes later, security footage showed Stickney entering the Capitol on the north side. Stickney, wearing a black jacket and gray hoodie, held his hands up to his mouth as if to shout something to the crowd before storming into a room, charges say. Stickney also entered another room while in the building.
Around 3 p.m., Stickney came back toward the entrance holding an American flag, according to the charges. He left the flag against an office door, before pulling his hood over his head and exiting the building.
Matthew Stickney leans an American flag against the door of the Parliamentarian’s Office and leaves it there before continuing to exit the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He pulls his gray hood back over his head and exits the U.S. Capitol. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia)
Stickney’s devices place him near the Capitol building until 4:04 p.m., the charges say.
Early the morning of Jan. 7, Stickney searched on Google “hands burning from pepper spray.”
Later that morning, Stickney flew back to Seattle.
As of Wednesday, court documents suggest Stickney does not have legal representation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Stickney’s case.
Authorities arrested Stickney on Dec. 20. Authorities arrested Stickney on Dec. 20. The same day, a Western District of Washington magistrate judge ordered his release, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Daniel Ball wrote in an email.
The defendant was not behind bars as of this week.
An Instagram story depicting a person resembling Matthew Stickney inside the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia)
Stickney works as a maintenance technician at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, according to his LinkedIn profile. Representatives at the Seattle branch did not pick up calls from a reporter.
He is not the first person with Snohomish County connections to face federal charges in the breach of the Capitol. Daniel Lyons Scott, a Proud Boy with ties to Arlington, pleaded guilty earlier this year for obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. In July, a federal judge sentenced Scott to five years in prison.
Last year, federal prosecutors also accused two Lynnwood men, Tucker Weston and Jesse Watson, of raising a Trump banner and taking selfies inside the U.S. Capitol that day. In August, Watson was ordered to spend three years on probation and pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty. Weston has also pleaded guilty, but hasn’t been sentenced.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the jurisdiction of the judge who ordered Stickney’s release.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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