Former Princeton University student pleads guilty to felony charge for role in Capitol riot

Larry Fife Giberson Jr., a 2023 graduate of Princeton University who majored in politics, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to one felony count of civil disorder for his involvement in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of 2021.

Giberson, a New Jersey resident from Manahawkin, was charged in March on six counts, including a felony count for impeding police during the civil disorder. Giberson appeared in federal court Monday morning with his attorney, Charles Burnham, to enter a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols.

According to court documents and a statement of facts from an FBI agent task force officer, Giberson, 22, was among rioters on Jan. 6 who repeatedly engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the Capitol in the Lower West Terrace “tunnel” entrance. He allegedly entered the tunnel at about 3:10 p.m. and made his way toward the front of the pack of rioters. He then allegedly joined rioters as they attempted to force their way into the building by coordinating “heave-ho” pushing efforts against the police line. While Giberson was at the front of the pack of rioters pushing against officers in unison with other rioters, one officer was crushed between a door and a shield held by a rioter, according to court documents.

A few minutes later, Giberson rushed to the tunnel entryway and began waving more rioters into the tunnel. Giberson then allegedly returned to the tunnel to participate in a second round of coordinated pushing against the police line, according to the court documents. Eventually, police officers were able to gain temporary control over the tunnel and push rioters, including Giberson, out.

Rioters continually battled to regain access to the Capitol through the tunnel. As Giberson stood nearby, rioters dragged one officer into the crowd. According to court documents, Giberson watched as rioters assaulted and brutally injured the officer.

After watching the intensifying violence in and around the tunnel, and after watching rioters drag one officer out of the tunnel and violently assault that officer, Giberson allegedly started yelling “Drag them out!” He then cheered as weapons and pepper spray were used against police officers in the tunnel.

On the Princeton University campus, Giberson was vocal about his opposition to the university renaming Wilson College and The Woodrow Wilson School. In an open letter to The Tory, the conservative student newspaper at Princeton University, he expressed his indignation towards what he called the “hypocrisy of revisionism” and the “reckless and irresponsible decision” reached by school officials to remove Wilson’s name from school buildings.

Giberson was identified as a Jan.6 rioter from videos and was interviewed by the FBI at the Princeton Police Department. During the interview, he identified himself as the person seen in multiple videos wearing a blue “Make America Great Again” hat on Jan. 6.

He is scheduled to appear before the judge again on Nov. 1 for sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison but under the terms of his plea agreement, he could end up serving anywhere from no prison time to about 14 months.