A Howard County progressive activist accused of stealing immigration files from a Pikesville law firm agreed Wednesday to a deal with prosecutors that requires him to meet with a court psychiatrist.

Baltimore County authorities charged Jake Burdett last March with two felony counts of theft under $25,000 and a misdemeanor count of illegally accessing a computer, claiming the 27-year-old deleted two dozen electronic forms and stole physical files for two clients’ Green Card applications.

Burdett, represented by Westminster attorney William Bradley Bauhof, took the deal with prosecutors minutes before jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday.

He agreed to an Alford plea in which he doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him for the misdemeanor charge. Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Lippe agreed to drop the felony charges.

Lippe asked the court to sentence the Columbia resident to the maximum five years of probation and to pay about $9,700 in restitution to the law firm where Burdett used to clerk. Lippe also asked that Burdett be barred from contacting witnesses in the case and recommended that he be required to meet with a court psychiatrist.

Circuit Judge Nancy Maggitti Purpura said she needed the psychiatric evaluation to occur before setting any conditions for Burdett’s probation. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 9.

Burdett, who earned a law degree from the University of Baltimore and later passed the bar exam, asked the judge several questions, including about the deadline to withdraw the Alford plea and request a new trial. He has 30 days.

Burdett is a well known in Maryland’s political circles as a liberal activist willing to call out both Republicans and Democrats. His antics have gotten him booted from a number of events over the years.

In 2019, Burdett pleaded guilty to illegal wiretapping after he livestreamed a meeting at Congressman Andy Harris’ office during a Maryland Marijuana Justice rally. In 2023, Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins grabbed and pushed Burdett at an Capitol Hill event for House Republicans to discuss the World Health Organization. Later that year, Burdett was ejected from a news conference where Howard County Executive Calvin Ball released a housing plan.

According to charging documents in the Baltimore County theft case, the law firm fired Burdett on Feb. 22 via text message for insubordination and told him to place files on a desk before leaving the office.

“I’m sure your sociopathic narcissism will find a way to handle this,” Burdett replied via text, according to the charging documents.

Within 10 minutes, two client profiles were erased from an electronic system by an account tied to Burdett’s email address at the law firm.

The firm was able to retrieve a backup of the deleted files, but Lippe said the physical files were never recovered. The firm told authorities last year that they contained a client’s documents from Pakistan, making them “nearly impossible” to replace.

After the court adjourned, Burdett briefly approached three people seated in the gallery and said he was sorry.

“Hopefully, you guys don’t have to think of this another second of your lives,” he said.