Matthew Perna

Matthew Lawrence Perna (June 27, 1984 – February 25, 2022) was an American man who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. Perna, aged 37, died by suicide in February 2022 while awaiting his sentencing on charges of witness tampering, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and two counts of disorderly conduct. On January 20, 2025, the first day of the second presidency of Donald Trump, Trump posthumously pardoned Perna in his pardon of January 6 United States Capitol attack defendants.

Early life Perna graduated from Pennsylvania State University. He had previously lived in Thailand and South Korea. He wore a red hoodie on which the phrase "Make America Great Again" was printed. after becoming frustrated.

After leaving the building, court documents state that Perna went to a hotel room, in which he recorded a video with two other people. which he uploaded to Facebook, he made the claim that people with Antifa were "chiefly" responsible for breaking the doors and the windows at the Capitol, and that "it’s not over, trust me. The purpose of today was to expose Pence as a traitor," referring to then-Vice President Mike Pence. Perna pleaded guilty to all charges in December 2021, on advice from his defense attorney that he could expect a maximum sentence of 6 to 12 months if he did so. After this, prosecutors brought up the possibility of a sentencing enhancement of domestic terrorism that could have resulted in Perna spending 7–12 years in prison. Following this, his case was delayed multiple times over 13 months,

Perna was one of at least three participants in the Capitol attack to die by suicide, along with 47-year-old Mark Aungst of Pennsylvania and 53-year-old Christopher Georgia of Georgia.