VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A longtime Virginia Beach fishing captain who pleaded guilty to participating in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol has sued CNN for defamation.
In 2021, Jacob Hiles pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Hiles was sentenced to probation on Dec. 6, 2021, exactly 11 months to the day he and others stormed the Capitol.
The lawsuit accuses three CNN authors of writing a "defamatory article" about Hiles. Hiles is seeking $37 million, according to the lawsuit, filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
CNN filed a motion to move the case out of Virginia Beach Circuit Court and into federal court.
Hiles was arrested after “multiple Facebook friends” shared posts and videos he had made of himself inside the U.S. Capitol on the day of the riot.
According to charging documents, Hiles posted the morning of the riot that he was, "Feelin' cute... might start a revolution later, IDK."
The FBI said Hiles posted about being tear-gassed and entering the Capitol and being nearby when another rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot while attempting to breach the Speaker’s Lobby. Hiles also posted multiple videos of himself, including one in which he smokes an "unidentified substance" inside the Capitol.