WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former Viera High School teacher is expected to plead guilty to some of the charges filed against him as part of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, according to federal court testimony on Tuesday.
Kenneth John Reda, 54, was arrested by FBI agents on July 7 on charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct inside the U.S. Capitol and making violent entry to the U.S. Capitol Building.
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In court on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said they expected Reda to change his plea to guilty in the coming weeks.
Reda’s attorney confirmed the change, adding the agreement was nearly complete.
Details of the plea agreement were not discussed in court.
A plea agreement hearing has been set for Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
Brevard County Public Schools placed Reda on leave after he was arrested, and Reda resigned Aug. 13, according to the district.
They confirmed he was a physical education teacher at Viera High School at the time of the Capitol riot.
According to the criminal complaint from the FBI, investigators received a tip on Jan. 18 with a screenshot of messages on Parler, the far-right social networking site. The tipster claimed one of the commenters, under the screen name “mrjoebidenhead,” was Reda admitting to being inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. Records obtained from Parler, LLC later confirmed that the account belongs to Reda, according to the criminal complaint.
The biography for “mrjoebidenhead” reads, “Imperfect Son of the Lord Jesus Christ, Husband, Father, Son, Pop, Educator, concerned American NRA & 2A supporter: WWG1WGA.”
Investigators said other posts from Reda on Parler showed his intent to be in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6.
“We have got to get to DC on January 6th it is IMPERATIVE every single person that VOTED for Trump has to flood DC....” read one post, according to the complaint.
Another read, “It is time to organize PATRIOTS we need to get together and organize against this KABAL we need to overthrow it....the have thrown their last ditch effort to overthrow this election therefore this nation if we do not come together and organize we will LOSE.”
The FBI said it obtained records from Google showing that a mobile device linked to a Gmail account associated with Reda was inside the Capitol building or on restricted grounds on Jan. 6. for about 59 minutes, from 2:36 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.
According to the criminal complaint, agents observed Reda in multiple surveillance videos from inside the Capitol building. Below are several photos of Reda inside the building with a red box highlighting his location according to court documents. According to the FBI, surveillance footage showed Reda entered the Capitol building at 3:02 p.m. and exited it again at 3:12 p.m.
Reda’s arrest marked the 21st person from Central Florida charged in connection with the unrest in Washington, D.C. as then-President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as lawmakers inside were voting to certify the 2020 election results.
So far, 25 local residents have been arrested.
More than 600 people are facing federal charges in the deadly insurrection, which sent lawmakers into hiding and delayed the certification of President Joe Biden’s win.