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Panorama City man convicted for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

April 4, 2023

A Panorama City man has been convicted for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection that sought to disrupt the presidential election.

Edward Badalian, 28, was convicted on Tuesday, April 4, of conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building following a non-jury trial last month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Badalian, formerly a resident of North Hills, was charged in a superseding indictment returned in a case first filed in March 2021 against Daniel Rodriguez, 40, of Fontana.

Rodriguez, a former Panorama City resident, was indicted and later pleaded guilty to four felonies including the assault of a Metropolitan Police Department officer. The superseding indictment added a conspiracy charge against him. He has remained in custody since his arrest in March 2021.

In the fall of 2020, Badalian and Rodriguez — along with others — created a Telegram group chat called the “Patriots 45 MAGA Gang,” and used it as a platform to advocate violence against groups and individuals that supported the 2020 presidential election results, held positions of authority in government or who held “liberal or communist ideologies,” according to the indictment.

The group had been collecting weapons and tactical gear to bring to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, and coordinating with others before, during and after the riot, according to the indictment.

In late 2020, the two attended rallies in Huntington Beach and Beverly Hills that supported then-President Donald Trump and protested issues including COVID-19 mask mandates in California.

Badalian remains on pre-trial release until his sentencing hearing, set for July 21.

More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested across the country in the two years since the insurrection — including two-dozen-plus defendants with Southern California ties — as the result of the federal investigation.

More than 275 defendants have pleaded guilty to charges related to the Capitol breach, with most admitting to misdemeanor counts that amount to trespassing in the Capitol or adjacent restricted grounds.

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Orange County Register

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Panorama City man convicted for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

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