WATCH: Aunt Of J6 Protester Who Was Driven To Suicide By Biden DOJ Issues Powerful Statement

Geri Perna, the aunt of January 6 defendant Matthew Perna, who took his own life last year after the Biden Department of Justice announced plans to charge him with terrorism enhancements for walking around in a building for 20 minutes, issued a powerful statement during Tuesday’s January 6 field hearing.

Despite having a clean criminal record, the DOJ sought to put Matthew Perna behind bars for several years for participating in the January 6 Capitol protests. Prosecutors ultimately sought to charge him with “domestic terrorism” enhancements, which would have likely led to a lengthy prison sentence. This occurred despite Perna’s consistent cooperation with the investigation from the outset.

He tragically took his own life last March while awaiting sentencing.

On Monday, Geri Perna delivered a powerful statement during a January 6 Field Hearing, which was attended by U.S. Reps. Gaetz (R-FL), Boebert (R-CO), Norman (R-SC), Nehls (R-TX), Stuebe (R-FL), Gosar (R-AZ) and Taylor Greene (R-GA).

Perna began by reading a portion of her nephew’s suicide note, which read, “I sacrificed my freedom when I entered into the Capitol building on January 6 and in despair took my own life the night that I wrote this.”

“He had no intention of going into the Capitol when he traveled to DC. In his mind, he was standing up for all of us. Matt believed we are still entitled to free speech in the United States of America and did not think expressing it would cost him his life.”

“The doors he went through had already been opened. Video has confirmed this. Congress has been out of session for almost an hour at that point. He did not touch, break, or steal anything and stayed within the velvet ropes taking pictures and recording,” she continued. “These 14 minutes cost him everything. For the people who drove my nephew to kill himself, that was long enough to go after his reputation, his freedom, his business, his social media presence, his love of life, everything.”

Perna then detailed the Biden DOJ’s relentless prosecution of her nephew that was marked by “one betrayal after another.”

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“From the moment Matt found out the FBI was looking for him, he turned himself in. The agents said it would make it easier for him. That was a lie. He was told his clean record would count in his favor. It did not. He was told that having no affiliation with any organized group would help. That was another lie. Then he was told that he would most likely face a fine and nothing else. Not true either. His attorney said his sentence would be less if he made a deal and pled guilty to all charges. That was perhaps the greatest lie of all. In fact, that deal was a trap and the terms meant nothing to the DOJ because after Matt pled guilty, the prosecutor decided to present a sentencing enhancement of terrorism, which could have meant many, many years behind bars as compared to the 6 to 12 months that he was originally told.”

Perna urged lawmakers to pass the Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2022, which was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). The bill would outlaw pretrial detention for nonviolent political protesters, limit the authority of national security agencies over U.S. citizens and allow defendants to request a change of venue outside of Washington D.C.

“Our family struggles everyday knowing that he died at the hands of our own justice department. We have become a country I no longer recognize,” Perna concluded while holding back tears. “Our citizens have quickly been conditioned to fear speaking out for their beliefs. This needs to end.”

“Nothing I do will ever bring Matthew Perna back. I have absolutely nothing to gain from being here today, but I will spend the rest of my life making sure that he is never forgotten.”