KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A southeast Missouri man with ties to the Kansas City-area Proud Boys pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felonies involving the Capitol riot and was found guilty by a judge on a third felony count.

Nicholas Kennedy, 43, of Sikeston, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of civil disorder and one count of tampering with records, documents or other objects. And Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found him guilty of a felony count for obstruction of an official proceeding based on an agreed set of facts between the government and Kennedy’s attorneys.

Kennedy’s sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 28. He faces a likely sentence of between 18 months and 24 months in prison, but could be subject to a maximum of 20 years in prison on two of the felony charges.

He also must pay $2,000 restitution for damage to the Capitol, which the government says totaled more than $2.9 million.

Kennedy’s conviction comes nearly three years after his arrest and as Jan. 6 defendants are hopeful that the Supreme Court will step in to eliminate a commonly held charge against them or that former President Donald Trump will win the November election and issue a pardon to the rioters, whom he refers to as “hostages” and “political prisoners.”

The obstruction of an official proceeding charge — one of the most common felony charges filed in Jan. 6 cases — has been brought against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants, many who argue that the statute was misused against them.

In a case called Fischer v. United States, a federal judge ruled that the government improperly used the law to charge Jan. 6 rioters. The D.C. Circuit overturned the ruling, and in December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments in the case on April 16. A decision is expected before the court’s summer recess.

The outcome of the case could have far-reaching implications and impact many Capitol riot cases. If the Supreme Court rules that prosecutors did misuse the law, the sentences of some Capitol riot defendants could be reduced or — in the cases of those who were charged only with obstruction — overturned.

The Supreme Court’s decision could affect the federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump as well. Obstruction of an official proceeding is among the several charges he faces in the criminal case filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith accusing him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Much of Kennedy’s hearing Tuesday involved prosecutor Jason McCullough laying out the evidence behind the plea deal.

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