As authorities continue to pursue individuals who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol, a growing number of those charged are employing a new defense: blaming the police for letting them in.
At least 29 people arrested for their role in the Jan. 6 events have claimed they thought they were free to enter the Capitol because law enforcement authorities either didn't stop them from coming in or never told them they were not allowed to be there, according to affidavits and court filings reviewed by ABC News.
"He was not at the front of the lines, he didn't see barricades being knocked down, he didn't see officers getting assaulted, he didn't see anything other than large crowds at the Capitol," Thomas Mayr, the lawyer for Christopher Grider, one of the people accused of participating in the riot, told ABC News. "He went through an open door."
Grider, of Texas, is one of dozens of suspected rioters who claimed to be unaware they were not allowed inside -- some of whom argued that they were actually ushered in by officers. He now faces multiple charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.