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The Champion man charged federally for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol appeared Wednesday before U.S. Judge John D. Bates in District of Columbia U.S. District Court for a status conference about his case.
Stephen M. Ayres, 39, of Carolewood Circle NW, faces a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding as well as misdemeanor counts of unlawful entry into restricted buildings or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building.
According to an entry on the docket, parties "discussed the posture of the case," and the judge set a telephonic status conference for June 8.
Ayres, who remains free after posting a bond, had a co-defendant in the case -- a Sharpsville, Pa., man who would have been sentenced April 1, but died about a month before that hearing.
Matthew L. Perna, 37, died Feb. 25 of "a broken heart," according to his obituary that appears on the website of John Flynn Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. of Hermitage, Pa.
In December, Perna pleaded guilty before Bates to the same charges filed against Ayres. Perna's obituary told the story about his and Ayres' arrest:
"He attended the rally on Jan. 6, 2021, to peacefully stand up for his beliefs … He entered the Capitol through a previously opened door (he did not break in as was reported) where he was ushered in by police. He didn't break, touch or steal anything. He did not harm anyone, as he stayed within the velvet ropes taking pictures."
None of the charges deal with any acts of violence, court officials say.
The affidavit states that multiple tips showed Ayres and Perna were "of the many who had unlawfully entered the Capitol on that day, and ... had posted a video talking about it on social media later that day."
An email to Ayres' attorney, federal public defender Eugene Ohm, was not answered.
Perna's attorney, Jerry Ingram, said at the time of his client's death that the situation is "purely tragic." He said Perna was a victim of "overzealous" prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney office.