Little Neck's Alleged Insurrectionist: Where His Case Stands

LITTLE NECK, QUEENS — A year after allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol alongside a pro-Trump mob, Jia Liu, 26, who pleaded not guilty to charges against him, remains a free man, court records show.

Federal prosecutors accuse Liu of entering the Capitol building two times on Jan. 6th, 2021 alongside a group of rioters who aimed to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election victory.

Liu allegedly climbed through an open window about 3:25 p.m. and, about an hour later, reentered through doors near the Senate Chamber, according to court documents.

At one point Liu took out his phone out and held it in front of his face, filming or photographing the scene, court photos show.

Authorities say they identified Liu using GPS phone data.

On Oct. 29th, Liu — a Little Neck resident and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Corporal— was arrested by the FBI, and hit with a four misdemeanor charges connected to the riot.

At an initial video court appearance six days later, Liu was released from custody without bail, court records show.

About two months later, at another remote court proceeding on Dec. 16th, Liu pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him, according to federal records.

Liu is allowed to remain out of custody while his case is pending until Feb. 17 when he will appear in video court in front of Judge Timothy J. Kelly, court records show.

This outcome is not unusual — many people facing insurrection-related charges in New York have been allowed to remain out of custody while their cases are pending.

Another Queens resident, who broke a federal gun regulation law and threatened to go armed to Washington D.C. and kill a Member of Congress on Jan. 6th, however, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

While Liu remains in legal limbo a year after storming the Capitol, many other people who were there that day are dealing with longterm effects of the attack, too.

About 150 officers from the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments were injured by rioters; some still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder; others are still going to physical-therapy for broken bones; one was beaten to death, the New York Times reported.

Correction: An original version of this story reported that the charges against Liu were dropped. Patch updated the article to reflect that his case is pending.