Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged in Capitol riot faces hearing Wednesday

Jan. 23—CLEVELAND, Tenn. — A Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is set to appear via teleconference Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., for a status hearing on his case.

Arrested on a federal indictment Feb. 23, 2021, at his apartment in Cleveland, Joseph "Jose" Lino Padilla, 41, faces 12 counts — 10 felonies and two misdemeanors, court documents state.

Padilla, honorably discharged from the Tennessee National Guard in 2012, had considered a plea deal last year then turned it down until more of the evidence in the case was available. He has remained in federal custody without bond because the judge ruled Padilla poses a continuing threat and flight risk, documents state.

Padilla's attorney, Edward R. Martin Jr., did not respond to an email and calls made to his office Friday requesting comment on the case. A court docket entry states this week's hearing is related to U.S. District Judge John D. Bates' order regarding a speedy trial.

Padilla pleaded not guilty in the case March 30, 2021, court records show.

Family member Rebeka Padilla was unwilling to comment when contacted by phone in Cleveland on Friday. A former neighbor, Haley Goodner, was acquainted with Padilla and his family when they lived in an apartment complex in the eastern part of Cleveland a year or so ago, she said Thursday during an interview outside her building.

"He seemed like a nice guy," Goodner said, noting that her fianceé had known him, too. "His wife is nice, and the kids were really nice."

Chaos at the Capitol

The FBI's Feb. 22, 2021, criminal complaint charging Padilla, who was identified by a tipster who saw him in videos of the incident, paints the prosecution's picture of the scene.

According to the complaint, Padilla was seen in footage from a Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia officer's body camera wearing a scuba mask and pushing a police barricade line shouting, "Push! Push! ----ing push!"

Another video captured Padilla pushing the barricade, and police officers removed his scuba mask and began pushing him and striking him with a police baton "to get him to stop," the complaint states. Soon after, another video showed Padilla helping others move a large, metal-framed sign on wheels toward the barricade.

The sign was used as a battering ram against police, who were attempting to hold the mob at bay, the complaint states.

A few hours later, "Padilla and numerous other rioters began to mass in front of a law enforcement line inside the archway of the U.S. Capitol Lower West Terrace Doors," the complaint states.

"He throws the flagpole at the officers, who are simultaneously being attacked by rioters," the complaint states. The complaint then includes images of those actions.

Padilla allegedly posted on thedonald.win after the riot, according to the complaint that lists several of his remarks:

— "After I had my right hand knuckles and ring finger crushed for just talking to an officer I knew was a soldier and reminding him of his duty to refuse unlawful orders, I got pissed, and so did many others. That's when we started pushing."

— "I was right there. I have the wounds to prove it. I pushed the rails, I pushed the stairs, and then pushed the doorway. I was beaten unconscious twice, sprayed more times than I care to count, received strikes from batons that should have been lethal (Multiple temple and carotid strikes) except that God was on my side."

— "They may have let the first group in for the fear mongering. The rest of us they smashed our hands, tased us, and sprayed us for the crime of standing at the railing yelling. Then we got pissed and started to push. Then they ran up the stairs and we followed, and I think God the guys on the left of the building were able to push up the stairs, allowing the capture the second tier and start knocking on the Capitol Building doors."

— "Honestly, the guy breaking the windows weren't Antifa. They were Patriots trying to find a new way in so we could flank the cops who were holding the doorway."

— "If we could have occupied the Capitol, we could have invoked the right given to us in the 2nd paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.We would have been in the Seat of Power. All we would need to do is declare our grievances with the government and dissolve the legislature, and replace it with Patriots who were there. Then simply re-adopt the Constitution with amendments added to secure future Federal elections."

On Jan. 7, 2021, Padilla allegedly posted this on his Facebook page:

"There's a lot of memes and posts flying around saying that the people who were fighting last night were all Antifa provacateurs etc. I just want to say that as a first hand observer of every point of last night, that it was not Antifa. They were Patriots who were trying to Restore the Republic after being attacked by the cops, who struck first. Even those who broke the windows next to the doorway to the Capitol were Patriots trying to find a way to turn the Flanks of the cops."

In September 2021, prosecutors released video evidence in Padilla's case.

Wearing a blue jacket and a scuba mask, with a dust mask hanging below his chin, Padilla shouted at officers at 1:31 p.m. on Jan. 6, according to the time code in the video.

"Did your captain have to run off and call you to help him because he's afraid of me, for talking to him and for not backing down from you guys? You're ----ing defending a machine that does not ----ing care about you, man. But, if you let us in there, [pointing a finger toward Capitol building], that machine will be gone, and we will ----ing protect you people. You're being a moral coward. You are a moral coward. You know what you're doing is wrong."

In a motion from Padilla seeking to remove his federal detention order — which remains in place — he contends he didn't bring a weapon to the Capitol and he does not own a firearm. The flagpole, Padilla's motion states, slid to the ground after it was thrown.

The motion describes Padilla as "a stay-at-home dad to his three sons — managing the house while his wife is at work, picking the boys up from school and watching them throughout the afternoon and early evening."

At no point after Jan. 6, 2021, did Padilla attempt to flee, the Cleveland man's motion contends.

"Until his arrest five weeks later, Mr. Padilla continued to pick up his children and manage the family home," the motion states.

But in a 25-page May 4, 2021, order from Bates, Padilla's motion was denied.

Padilla "poses a concrete, prospective threat to the safety of the community," Bates wrote in the order to keep Padilla in federal custody.

The court has ordered that Padilla can attend Wednesday's hearing virtually via teleconference.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.