PORTLAND, Ore. — A Battle Ground man who took selfie-style photos with his son during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 pleaded guilty to a single count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
Jeff Grace, 64, appeared by Zoom for Monday’s plea hearing before Judge Randolph Moss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sentencing is scheduled for August 3. Grace could face up to six months in prison for the misdemeanor crime.
Grace’s son, Jeremy Grace, was sentenced to 21 days in prison and supervised release last July.
Court records alleged the father-son duo went to Washington D.C. in January 2021 to attend a rally in support of President Donald Trump. They traveled and stayed at a hotel with a member of the Proud Boys identified as “Travis” in court documents.
The three men attended a gathering of the Proud Boys from around the country on Jan. 5, prosecutors said in court documents.
On Jan. 6, the father and son from Southwest Washington joined with a large group of Proud Boys at the Washington Monument before walking toward the U.S. Capitol Building, according to federal investigators.
Despite his claims that he came to Washington D.C. to attend a rally for Trump, investigators said Grace never attended the rally that day.
Federal prosecutors have shared photos and video with the court showing both Jeff and Jeremy Grace a few feet behind the front line of protesters who pushed past law enforcement protecting the Capitol. Images taken from security cameras also show Grace entering the U.S. Capitol Building and then watching another rioter attempt to steal a Congressional lectern.
In a March 2021 interview with KGW, Jeff Grace falsely claimed he didn’t take any photos or videos inside the Capitol Building. He also denied his son, Jeremy entered the federal building.
“He didn’t go into the Capitol,” Jeff Grace told KGW.
Court records proved otherwise. Jeff and Jeremy Grace can be seen posing together in photos and video inside and outside the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection. Federal agents claim both men tried to delete the selfie-style videos.
In one video, prosecutors said the father and son appeared inside the Rotunda. “Just made it into the Capitol here. Oh yeah, oh yeah,” said Jeremy Grace, according to court documents. “It gets no better than this,” Jeff Grace replied.
In August 2021, a federal judge ordered Jeff Grace surrender any guns and weapons while awaiting trial after he showed up armed during what prosecutors described as pre-planned confrontations in both Portland, Oregon and El Paso, Texas.
After his arrest, Jeff Grace posted videos on YouTube and social media complaining the Justice Department treated him unfairly. He also sold shirts online displaying the U.S. Capitol with the phrase “OUR HOUSE” boldly printed on the front.
Several social media accounts associated with Jeff Grace, along with the “Our House USA” website selling merchandise have since been removed.
Nine people from Oregon and Southwest Washington were charged in relation to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Of those, four have pleaded guilty, including Jeff and Jeremy Grace.
A federal judge sentenced Jeffrey Hubbard of Lincoln City to 45 days in prison and three years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building.
Lilith Saer of Portland, 30, pleaded guilty for her role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. She will be sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.