Two Stroudsburg brothers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to various charges related to the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

During a video appearance before Senior U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, Andrew Valentin, 26, and Matthew Valentin, 31, maintained their innocence despite allegations they assaulted law enforcement during the breach.

A status conference is scheduled for late July.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the brothers face felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. They are also charged with several misdemeanors, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and act of physical violence in the Capitol buildings or grounds.

Andrew Valentin was arrested on Feb. 11, 2024, in South Whitehall, and made his initial appearance in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Matthew Valentin was arrested on Feb. 12, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, and made his initial appearance in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Allegations against the brothers

According to court documents, the Valentin brothers are identified in open-source video walking from the Washington Monument along Constitution Avenue towards the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. The brothers eventually made their way to the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds and climbed a media tower in the area.

At approximately 2:28 p.m., the crowd of rioters assembled on the West Plaza, including the Valentin brothers, rushed the police line. Body-worn camera footage showed the Valentin brothers pushing a bike rack barricade into the police line during the mele. At one point, Matthew Valentin reached his hand through the bike rack barricade and grabbed a U.S. Capitol Police Officer.

After the crowd rushed the line, police fell back and formed a new protective line on the south side of the West Plaza. As members of the mob continued to advance on and assault police, Andrew Valentin took out a cellphone and appeared to have recorded the scene. At about 2:33 p.m., both brothers approached the reformed police line. Matthew held a baton in one hand and a spray canister in the other. Less than one minute later, Matthew sprayed what appeared to be a chemical irritant into the line of officers. Law enforcement officers then retreated from the West Plaza, and Matthew took out his cell phone to record the scene.

The brothers then made their way to the Upper West Terrace at approximately 2:50 p.m. and approached another line of police officers and Matthew grabbed an officer’s baton. Law enforcement later cleared the crowd from this area, and the brothers returned to the West Plaza. Here, at approximately 5:12 p.m., Andrew Valentin is seen on body-worn camera footage throwing a chair at a line of police officers. Court documents say that the chair struck the shield of a Montgomery County Police Officer.