Matthew R. Brackley, the Republican candidate for Senate District 24, participates in a candidate forum in Wiscasset on Sept. 29, 2022. Brackley was arrested on two federal felony charges and six misdemeanors as part of an ongoing investigation of events at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo, LCN file)
A recent candidate for Senate District 24 was arrested Friday, July 21 at his home in Waldoboro on felony and misdemeanor charges from his presence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Matthew Brackley, 39, made his initial appearance in Maine District Court Friday on criminal complaint charges for two Class D felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding two officers and six misdemeanors, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.
The charges result from an ongoing investigation, leading to over 1,069 arrests so far, into a “breach” of the U.S. Capitol building on that date during a joint session of U.S. Congress to count electoral votes in the presidential election.
“I would like to offer comments, but my attorney has advised me not to. I’m going to follow his advice,” Brackley said on Monday, July 24.
Brackley is represented by Steven H. Levin, of the Washington, D.C. firm Steptoe and Johnson. Levin also declined to comment.
Brackley ran as a Republican in the November 2022 election, his first bid for the office, and lost to incumbent Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, by 12,558 to 9,016 votes. Maine Senate District 24 consists of Dresden in Lincoln County and all of Sagadahoc County.
According to court documents, Brackley’s presence on Jan. 6 was confirmed by his cellphone data and video footage from the Capitol, both on closed circuit television and in videos taken by other participants, along with an interview at his home a year later.
The statement of facts for the case states that Brackley had emailed senators on Jan. 5 asking them to “stand up to this blatant corruption and support a second term for President Donald J. Trump” and that “the people will” do so.
Brackley flew to Washington, D.C. from Portland the same day, according to court documents, and was present at the “Stop the Steal” rally on the national mall the following morning.
He then walked to the Capitol building, climbed up stairs under scaffolding constructed to hold the inaugural stage, and entered. Brackley and others pushed through Capitol police officers twice, according to court documents.
When he was stopped by officers a third time at the Senate chamber, documents described a video showing Brackley being told to back up and given a “small” push backward by an officer.
Brackley then turned to others behind him, said “Let’s go,” and pushed through two officers to lead the crowd to the Senate chamber. Another group of officers attempted to stop the group down the following hallway, and the group pushed against them.
Brackley left the building after an officer used chemical spray on the crowd, according to the documents.
He was charged last week in a District of Columbia criminal complaint with the two felonies of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, according to court documents.
His misdemeanor charges include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a capitol building, act of physical violence in the capitol grounds or buildings, and parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.
Brackley made his initial appearance in Maine District Court the day of his arrest, according to the press release.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and is under investigation by the FBI’s Boston and Washington field offices, according to the press release.
A website made for his Maine Senate candidacy stated Brackley was raised in New Vineyard and went on to work at Bath Iron Works before starting his own business, Brackley Electric, in 2017 when he and his family moved to West Bath.
Brackley’s campaign communications emphasized a reduction in government operations and regulation. A list of outcomes on the website’s home page included “Guarantee election integrity.”
At a candidate forum hosted by The Lincoln County News last year, he said his bid for the seat was motivated by concerns about regulations, taxes, and medical freedom, with particular focus on reducing workforce regulations and increasing trades training.
“There are many reasons I am running for state Senate, but the primary one is to take an active role in protecting our individual freedoms,” Brackley said on his website.
An arraignment date has not been set.
