Judge John Bates, who has ordered the Trump administration to restore webpages at the Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were deleted to comply with Trump’s executive order prohibiting gender ideology, has been revealed to have presided over the case of Matthew Perna, who was charged in connection to January 6 and committed suicide while awaiting sentencing.
In March 2022, 37-year-old Perna, who had pleaded guilty to four counts related to the Capitol breach, committed suicide at his residence, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An obituary written by Perna’s family said, "His community, which he loved, his country and the justice system killed his spirit and his zest for life." It added, "The constant delays in hearings and postponements dragged out for over a year. Because of this, Matt's heart broke and his spirit died and many people are responsible for the pain he endured."
His family said that he had gone to DC to "peacefully stand up for his beliefs" and that when he learned the FBI was looking for him, Perna "immediately turned himself in." Perna attended the rally that took place at the Ellipse earlier in the day and then marched to the Capitol, where he went inside for 20 minutes. He later said in a video posted to Facebook that Antifa members were "chiefly" responsible for damage caused to the Capitol that day.
One of Perna’s lawyers, J Gerald Ingram, told NBC at the time, "The government had recently announced an intention to seek an additional sentencing enhancement with Mr. Perna, and he was psychologically frail and not able to deal with the stress of the situation." In December 2021, Perna pleaded guilty to obstruction of Congress, a felony count, and three related misdemeanor charges. Attorneys for the Biden DOJ brought an additional charge of domestic terrorism.
Judge Bates has ordered the CDC, FDA, AND HHS to restore pages that were taken down after Trump’s executive order related to gender ideology. Judge Bates wrote in his ruling, "It bears emphasizing who ultimately bears the harm of defendants’ actions: everyday Americans, and most acutely, underprivileged Americans, seeking healthcare." Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office stating that "Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages."
