Former President Donald Trump has made the January 6th defendants central to his campaign. It is “most likely,” Trump has said, that he would pardon “a large portion of them.” One of his “first acts” in office, Trump wrote last month, would be to “Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongly imprisoned!”
It can be difficult for journalists and the public to isolate which January 6th defendants Trump has in mind. However, Trump has taken a particular interest in the January 6th defendants held in Washington, D.C.
On Mar. 22, Trump posted on Truth Social a flier advertising a nightly vigil for the inmates held by the D.C. Department of Corrections. “Stand in solidarity with our January 6th Political Prisoners in the DC jail as we honor their bravery,” the flier reads. “At 9:00pm, everyone stops what they are doing to stand in solidarity as we all sing the National Anthem together.” Trump captioned the flier with his own announcement of the vigil.
The vigil is organized by Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter and QAnon adherent who was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6, 2021. Babbitt was attempting to climb through a broken window in a door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby of the U.S. Capitol at the time. Rioters broke the glass and pounded on the doors as members of Congress were evacuating just feet away.
Witthoeft said that Trump called her that same day (Mar. 22) to discuss “setting these guys free when he gets in.” According to the Washington Post, Witthoeft added that Trump “said to pass that on to the guys inside that they’re on his mind, and when he gets in they’ll get out.”
Trump’s campaign has deflected questions from the media concerning who, exactly, would “get out.” But we can identify them based upon the D.C. Department of Corrections’ official list obtained by Just Security.
As of Mar. 23, 2024 (the day after Trump reportedly vowed to set “these guys free”), the D.C. Department of Corrections had twenty-nine (29) January 6th inmates in its custody, including defendants who are either awaiting trial or post-conviction. Here are some highlights:
- 27 of the 29 January 6th inmates held in D.C. have been charged with assaulting law enforcement officers in the U.S. Capitol or on its grounds. Most of the inmates have been charged with committing other crimes as well. Only 2 of them have not been charged with assaulting officers.
- 20 of the 27 January 6th inmates charged with assaulting law enforcement officers have already been convicted at trial (10 inmates) or pleaded guilty (10 inmates) to that charge.
- 7 of the 27 January 6th inmates charged with assaulting law enforcement officers are awaiting trial.* Some of them may be in the process of negotiating plea deals with the government.
- The January 6th D.C. inmates’ assaults on law enforcement include some of the most disturbing acts of violence at the U.S. Capitol. One convicted felon helped lead the assault on police guarding the Capitol’s external security perimeter, an “attack [that] paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds.” Another inmate allegedly threw “an explosive device that detonated upon at least 25 officers,” causing some of the officers to temporarily lose their hearing. “For many other officers that were interviewed,” an FBI Special Agent’s statement of facts reads, “it was the most memorable event that day.” Other January 6th inmates held in D.C.: “viciously ripped off” an Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer’s mask; assaulted officers “with an electro-shock device;” allegedly sprayed multiple police officers with a pepper spray; “struck an MPD officer with a long wooden pole multiple times;” and allegedly used a “crutch and a metal pole” as “bludgeoning weapons or projectiles against” a “line of law enforcement officers.” Still others assaulted officers with their fists, stolen riot shields, makeshift weapons or in other ways.
- January 6th D.C. inmates were incited by Trump. Many of the defendants attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. During his speech at the rally, Trump repeated dozens of lies about the election and repeatedly riled up the crowd, telling those in attendance: “We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Trump also targeted Vice President Mike Pence, falsely claiming that Pence had the power to overturn the election’s results. “I’m telling you if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag motherfuckers through the streets,” one defendant who pleaded guilty to assaulting officers with pepper spray said as he marched from the rally to the Capitol. Another defendant who was convicted of assaulting officers believed Trump’s lie that Dominion voting machines had switched votes to Biden and said he had to act because a “call to battle was announced.” Another inmate who pleaded guilty to the felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, boasted: “We love our president…f— these hoe ass cops that are traitors we f— ed up that capital [sic] up today !!!” Still another defendant who was convicted of 12 felonies, including for attacking law enforcement, posted on social media as “Chris Trump” and after the riot said: “It was wild. The president didn’t lie. It was fuckin’ wild.” He was almost certainly referring to Trump’s Dec. 19, 2020 tweet, in which the president announced: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” These are just some examples of how Trump instigated the January 6th D.C. inmates.
- The January 6th D.C. inmates include individuals with known far-right extremist beliefs or ties. One of them is a member of the Proud Boys, while another has been identified as an associate of the group. (Trump has said he would consider pardoning senior leaders of the Proud Boys who have been convicted of seditious conspiracy for their actions leading up to and on January 6th.) The Department of Justice describes still another January 6th D.C. inmate, who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon, as associate of the Wolverine Watchmen, an extremist group comprised of individuals convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.” Other D.C. January 6th inmates expressed their disdain for the U.S. government, with one writing: “F— ALL THESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.” Still another stood in front of a gallows constructed outside the U.S. Capitol and allegedly said that lawmakers “need to hang from these motherfuckers.”
- Only 2 of the 29 January 6th D.C. inmates have not been charged with assaulting law enforcement officers. One of them allegedly engaged in other disturbing behavior, including stalking then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and former President Barack Obama. He allegedly aired a video about January 6th at an elementary school in Raskin’s neighborhood. And when Donald Trump posted what he thought was Obama’s address in Washington, D.C., this January 6th defendant drove his van, along with firearms and ammunition, to Obama’s neighborhood, looking for ways to gain access to the former president.
Below, we present short biographies of all the January 6th inmates held by the Washington, D.C. Department of Corrections as of Mar. 23, 2024. These biographies draw heavily from the Department of Justice’s website, including press releases and associated legal filings.
*Update: In Sept. 2023, David Dempsey pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting officers. Dempsey pleaded guilty to assaulting one Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer with pepper spray and another with a metal crutch, both of which are described as “deadly or dangerous weapon[s].” Thank you to NBC’s Ryan Reilly for pointing out Dempsey’s plea agreement. The statistics in this piece have been updated to reflect Dempsey’s plea agreement. In addition, Taylor James Johnatakis was sentenced on Apr. 3 to more than seven years in prison.
IMAGES: Zachary Alam (via Statement of Facts)
1. Zachary Alam:
“I’m going to f*** you up,” he shouted at U.S. Capitol Police officers”
Status: In Sept. 2023, Alam was found guilty of eight felonies – including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon – as well as several misdemeanor offenses.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Alam “assisted other rioters in scaling barriers propped as make-shift ladders on the side of the northwest steps.” Alam, who was wearing a MAGA hat, “entered the Capitol building at approximately 2:17 p.m.,” which was just minutes after the building was first breached, “leaping through a broken window adjacent to the Senate Wing emergency exit doors.”
According to the DOJ’s description of events, Alam and other rioters were “corralled” by law enforcement into a hallway near the House Chamber’s Main Door. Alam “laughed, argued with other rioters, and joined the mob that pushed through the police line” in the hallway. After Alam and others “unsuccessfully trying to breach the House Main Door,” they “headed to the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby—another entry point at the rear of the House chamber.” Three U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers “stood guard at the Speaker’s Lobby Doors, with furniture piled behind them to provide a barricade.”
“I’m going to f*** you up,” Alam “shouted multiple times” at the USCP officers. As lawmakers were evacuating a short distance away behind the door, according to the DOJ’s summary, Alam repeatedly “punched the glass” on the door. He shattered “three glass door panes as members and staff were still present” and “pushed up against three officers standing guard.” Alam exhorted the crowd, telling rioters that House members were “the problem.” He “then used a black helmet to smash out three of the glass panes” and “continued to smash the last glass pane in the door” even after the USCP officers had drawn their guns to protect lawmakers from the mob. By smashing the windows on the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby, Alam enabled a woman, Ashli Babbitt, “to climb through the window, where she was shot.” As he left the building, Alam shouted that the rioters “need guns.”
IMAGE: Farbod Azari (via Affidavit)
IMAGES: Farhad Azari (via Affidavit)
2 and 3. Farhad and Farbod Azari
Status: In January, Farhad and Farbod Azari, a father and son duo, pleaded guilty to the felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon, as well one count of civil disorder.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Farhad and Farbod repeatedly confronted law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021. They also helped break down fencing and bike racks that obstructed the mob. Farhad “was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol during the first breach.”
Farhad, the father, “joined with other rioters in pushing the rack back against police officers in a clear attempt to break the newly established line.” And during a confrontation with officers on the north side of the Capitol’s West Plaza, Farhad “picked up a flagpole and hurled it at the line of officers.” Farhad also threw an air horn at officers, too.
According to the DOJ’s summary, Farbod (the son) joined other rioters in an attempt “to break through the metal bike-rack barricades guarded by United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers.” Farbod “waved a flag and used it to jab at the line of USCP officers, making physical contact with one officer’s arm.” After rioters broke through the metal barricades, they stormed up the Northwest stairs of the Capitol building. Farbod was “at the front of the group” and “chased retreating officers up the stairs.” Later, on the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol, Farbod was among the rioters who confronted a line of officers. Farbod “picked up a flagpole, raised it behind his head, took several steps towards the line of police officers, and swung it towards the officers.” After retreating “several feet,” Farbod “held the flagpole like a spear before he threw it at the line of officers.”
IMAGES: Daniel Ball (via Statement of Facts)
4. Daniel Ball:
Allegedly threw an explosive device at law enforcement officers
Status: Ball was arrested in May 2023 and charged with several felonies and misdemeanors. The felony charges include “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon” and “using fire or an explosive to commit any felony.”
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary and a statement of facts filed by an FBI Special Agent, Ball joined other rioters in assaulting law enforcement officers at the tunnel on the Capitol’s lower west terrace. Ball allegedly “worked with other rioters to violently push against fully uniformed police officers attempting to keep individuals out of the Capitol Building.”
When the rioters failed to break through the officers protecting the Capitol, Ball allegedly threw “an explosive device that detonated upon at least 25 officers.” According to the statement of facts, the “device flashed and exploded multiple times on the officers in the tunnel,” with one of the explosions being so loud that it “caused all the officers and some rioters/protesters in the crowd to flinch in unison.”
The FBI Special Agent’s statement of facts cites interviews with four Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers who were in the tunnel when the explosive device detonated. One MPD “officer had hearing impairment lasting months.” Another “described the pain of his ears ringing after the explosion as a ten out of ten,” saying that he “temporarily lost his hearing, and his hearing was affected for at least two days.” A third MPD officer “described ringing in his ears for nearly three hours after the explosion.” A fourth MPD officer “described a continued ringing in his ears far into the next day.”
“For many other officers that were interviewed,” the FBI Special Agent’s statement of facts reads, “it was the most memorable event that day.” Officers “reported feeling the pressure of the blast,” with some thinking “they were going to die.” Some officers interviewed “suffered psychological trauma from the explosion.”
An FBI Explosives and Hazardous Devices Examiner investigated the explosive device Ball allegedly threw at the officers. However, the FBI examiner was “unable to conclusively identify the precise dimensions, charge size, or whether the device thrown was improvised or commercially manufactured.” Still, the device was “capable of inflicting damage to surrounding property” and, as described above, injured several officers.
According to the government, Ball was not finished throwing objects into the tunnel. He allegedly threw “what appeared to be a wooden leg of a chair or table” at the “officers within the tunnel” but it “ricocheted” and “struck a rioter in the face, knocking off his protective face mask.” Ball also allegedly passed a pole to another rioter who “threw the pole like a spear at the officers at the front” of a police line.
IMAGE: Dominic Box (via Statement of Facts)
5. Dominic Box:
“After hearing the President speak…I’d rather be on this side than the other.”
Status: Box was originally charged with four misdemeanors. After Box reportedly rejected a plea deal, prosecutors added three felony counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and two counts of civil disorder.
Description: According to a statement of facts filed by an FBI Special Agent, Dominic Box attended President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” (also known as the “Save America” rally) on Jan. 6, 2021. Box livestreamed his walk from the rally, down Pennsylvania Avenue, to the U.S. Capitol. Box can be overheard telling someone on the telephone:
…I can confirm that we’re all en route to Congress, to the Capitol. I can’t confirm that anybody’s, uh, stormed the Capitol or broken in, but we’re not there yet. We’ve heard reports of explosions and different things . . . but, uh, I don’t know what you can do to stop a crowd this size, with one thing on their mind. And, after hearing the [former] President [Trump] speak, specify the numbers and the ways in which this election was stolen from us, uh, I can definitely say I’d rather be on this side than the other. There’s some very, rightfully, disgruntled individuals here.
According to the statement of facts, Box entered the Capitol at around 2:14 p.m., meaning he was among the first rioters to enter the building. He was allegedly captured on video “giving the middle finger towards the dome portion” of the Senate rotunda. At one point, a U.S. Capitol Police officer told Box and other rioters: ““We don’t need any more violence right now, all right? Calm down. We can stand right here and talk it out, ok?” Box allegedly responded: “There’s no talking, there’s no fucking talking!”
IMAGES: Steven Cappuccio (via United States Attorney for the District of Columbia)
6. Steven Cappuccio:
“Fight for Trump!”
Status: In Nov. 2023, Cappuccio was sentenced to 85 months in prison after previously being convicted of six felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Description: Cappuccio, a military veteran, reportedly traveled from Texas to Washington, D.C. for Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Cappuccio joined other rioters at the “Lower West Terrace Tunnel entrance of the Capitol building, where some of the most violent assaults on law enforcement officers occurred on January 6th.” Upon arriving at the scene, Cappuccio “immediately joined the push against the police line.”
Cappuccio and other rioters coordinated a “heave-ho” push against police. When “a police officer became pinned between the metal doors in the Tunnel and a shield held by a rioter,” Cappuccio “forcefully yanked the gas mask away from the pinned officer’s face in hard, quick movements, causing the officer’s head and neck to be yanked violently in various directions.” The man assaulted by Cappuccio is Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges.
This is the scene officer Daniel Hodges is describing
Horror pic.twitter.com/mjikwu39rp
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 27, 2021
According to the DOJ, as “he viciously ripped off the officer’s gas mask,” Cappuccio apparently taunted Hodges: “How do you like me now, f—er?!” Cappuccio “then took the officer’s riot baton out of his hands and used the baton to strike the officer in the face.” Cappuccio “pumped his fist into the air victoriously” as he left the tunnel. According to media reporting, Cappuccio also yelled “Storming the castle, boys!”, “Fight for Trump!” and “Our house!” on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol.
IMAGE: Matthew DaSilva (via Statement of Facts)
7. Matthew DaSilva
Status: In July 2023, DaSilva was convicted of two felonies – including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers – and four misdemeanors.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, DaSilva “was observed on Capitol Police CCTV footage at the back of a group of rioters, engaging in a group ‘heave-ho’ maneuver in an attempt to dislodge law enforcement from their position defending the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance to the building.” DaSilva was also “observed approaching a group of officers assembled in the tunnel and forcibly pushing against an officer’s outstretched riot shield.” DaSilva grabbed “a riot shield and pulling it away from an officer,” and then “swatted the officer’s arm away as the officer attempted to deploy a handheld canister of OC [pepper] spray.”
IMAGE: David Dempsey (via Statement of Facts)
8. David Dempsey:
Lawmakers “need to hang from these motherfuckers [gallows]”
Status: Dempsey has been charged with felonies, including “assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers.”
Description: Relying on evidence collected by seditionhunters.org and other sources, the Department of Justice alleges that Dempsey used “various objects, including a crutch and a metal pole, as bludgeoning weapons or projectiles against the line of law enforcement officers protecting the tunnel in front of the west terrace entrance.” Video footage also shows “Dempsey spraying officers with what appears to be a lacrimal agent” (mace-like agent).
Online sleuths tagged Dempsey, of Van Nuys, California, as #FlagGaiterCopHater. Though he wore “various outfits” on January 6, Dempsey “predominantly” wore “a black shirt, dark helmet, goggles and an American flag gaiter covering most of his face.” The statement of facts authored by an FBI agent for Dempsey’s case cites a video recording of a “monologue” Dempsey gave “in front of a wooden structure representing a gallows fitted with a noose.” Dempsey allegedlysaid:
Them worthless fuckin’ shitholes like Jerry Nadler, fuckin’ Pelosi…They don’t need a jail cell. They need to hang from these motherfuckers [pointing to gallows]. …They need to get the point across that the time for peace is over. …For four, or five years really, they’ve been fuckin’ demonizing us, belittling us, …doing everything they can to stop what this is, and people are sick of that shit. …Hopefully one day soon we really have someone hanging from one of these motherfuckers….
IMAGE: David Gietzen (via Statement of Facts)
9. David Gietzen
Status: In August 2023, Gietzen was convicted of five felonies – including two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon – as well as three misdemeanors.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Gietzen “traveled to Washington, D.C., with his brother to attend” President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. The DOJ summary indicates that Gietzen assaulted multiple law enforcement officers. At one point, Gietzen “appeared to push with the crowd against” barriers and then “thrust his fist against shields held by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP).”
According to the DOJ, Gietzen “pushed an officer during a series of hand-to-hand confrontations between rioters” and officers in the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Capitol Police. Gietzen also “appeared to grab an officer by the throat or face mask.” In addition, he “was seen holding a long pole and thrusting it at a line of officers, ultimately striking a USCP officer with the pole in what Gietzen said was an effort to move the officer.” Later, Gietzen was also “observed on U.S. Capitol CCTV” footage “outside the Lower West Terrace Tunnel … pushing with the crowd back and forth against the law enforcement officers who were securing” an “entrance doorway.”
IMAGE: Vitali GossJankowski (via Statement of Facts)
10. Vitali GossJankowski
Status: In March 2023, GossJankowski was found guilty of multiple felonies – including forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, or interfering with a law enforcement officer on account of his official duties – and misdemeanors.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, GossJankowski “travelled from the Ellipse to the United States Capitol, making his way into the tunnel leading to the Lower West Terrace.” The tunnel was the site of some of the worst violence on Jan. 6, 2021. GossJankowski was “one of the first individuals to enter through the Lower West Terrace outer door.” And he “was captured on surveillance cameras, officer body-worn cameras, and other rioter’s cell phone videos interfering with officers by pushing them, spitting at them, and pulling at their protective shields.”
GossJankowski joined “other rioters by passing the officer’s protective shields away from the officers,” and participated in “a concerted effort to push against the officers’ line, and beckoning for more rioters to enter into the tunnel against the officers.” According to the DOJ’s summary, when “two law enforcement officers were pulled into the crowd, GossJankowski pushed his way through the crowd just outside the tunnel and grabbed an officer with the United States Capitol Police by his helmet.” GossJankowski “pulled the officer close and reached toward the officer with an unrecovered device GossJankowski would later call a taser.” The officer “suffered no additional harm and would later be escorted out of the crowd where he then returned to the Capitol to continue battling rioters attempting to enter the building.”
IMAGE: James Grant (via Statement of Facts)
11. James Grant
Status: In February, Grant was convicted of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including a felony of assaulting an officer “with a deadly or dangerous weapon (a metal crowd control barrier).” Grant previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary, Grant was part of a five-man group that “participated in the first breach of the restricted Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, and led the initial attack on United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers.” The group’s “attack paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds.” Another member of Grant’s group, Ryan Samsel, was the “first” to breach the Capitol’s exterior, “restricted perimeter.” The breach occurred at the Peace Circle, which sits between Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol.
“Grant followed closely behind Samsel and waived [sic] the crowd forward onto the restricted grounds,” the DOJ’s summary reads. After passing through the first security barrier, Samsel and Grant “then began to forcibly push and pull on the second barricade while officers held it in place.” Grant, Samsel and others lifted a “linked metal bike rack barricade off the ground.” The five-man group “drove the metal bike rack barricade into a line of USCP officers.”
“As they drove the metal bike rack barricade at the police line,” the DOJ’s summary reads, “one officer was struck in the face” and thrown “backward,” causing “the officer to slam their head twice: first against a metal handrail, then against the stairs.” The “officer lost consciousness and suffered a concussion.” A second officer “was driven several feet backward by the metal bike rack barricade until the back of their body ran into the stairwell and handrail behind them.”
Grant and the others jointly assaulted another USCP officer, attempting to pull the officer “toward a group of rioters.” Other USCP officers “intervened and forced” Grant and the others “to release the officer and back away.” However, the coordinated attack worked. With the security “barricades were down, and the officers outmanned,” the “rioters quickly overwhelmed the police line” and forced the USCP officers to retreat “backward toward the Capitol building.”
The five men walked to the Capitol after breaching the Peace Circle’s security and, according to the DOJ, “continued to fuel the riot.” Grant entered the Capitol and “stormed the halls with other rioters.” Grant and others were “recorded with others inside Senator Merkley’s office.”
IMAGE: Joseph Hutchinson III (via Affidavit)
12. Joseph Hutchinson III
Status: Hutchinson is charged with several crimes, including “assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees.”
Description: In January 2024, FBI agents arrested Hutchinson, along with Jonathan and Olivia Pollock (Nos. 19 and 20 below), after a prolonged manhunt. Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson were arrested in 2021, but disappeared in 2023 after reportedly removing their ankle bracelet monitors. The Pollocks and Hutchinson were initially charged along with two other co-defendants, Joshua Doolin and Michael Perkins, both of whom were found guilty of multiple charges last year.
According to the government’s statement of facts, Hutchinson was wearing paramilitary gear on Jan. 6, 2021. Hutchinson was allegedly “wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a tan baseball cap, and a tan/camouflage ballistic plate-carrier vest with a distinctive patch on the front.”
According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Jonathan and Olivia Pollock confronted law enforcement officers on multiple occasions on Jan. 6. Just before 2 p.m., on the west side of the Capitol, Jonathan Pollock “and his younger brother, charged toward a line of police officers while brandishing flagpoles.” Jonathan Pollock allegedly yelled “Let’s go!” while attempting “to push through a metal barricade.” Hutchinson then “grabbed the fence and pulled it back to provide rioters with unobstructed access to the line of police officers.” At that point, Jonathan Pollock allegedly “assaulted three police officers, pulling one down a set of steps, kneeing and punching another in the face, and punching and pushing a third by the neck.”
After the “metal barriers were overrun by rioters,” according to the DOJ’s summary, the “crowd was now held back by a line of police officers with riot shields.” Hutchinson allegedly “charged the line of police officers and began throwing punches.” Jonathan Pollock allegedly “seized a riot shield from an officer and engaged in a tug-of-war-style conflict before pulling the officer down the steps, breaking the officer’s grasp and taking the shield.” Jonathan Pollock “then held the riot shield in front of him, charged up the steps and slammed into the police line.” Perkins “picked up a flagpole and thrust it into the chest of a police officer,” and then “raised the flagpole over his head and appeared to strike an officer in the back of his head.”
“At approximately 2:11 p.m.,” according to the DOJ’s summary, Jonathan Pollock “grappled with another officer and swung his arm to strike the officer while another rioter simultaneously swung at the officer with a flagpole.” Hutchinson “kicked the line of police officers, and Jonathan Pollock seized a riot shield which he thrust into an officer’s throat and face before thrusting the shield towards another officer.” One minute later, “police officers began moving down the steps of the Capitol.” Hutchinson “stepped forward and punched an officer who stumbled” and “then grabbed the jacket sleeve of another officer before throwing them out of his way.” Olivia Pollock, who was following Hutchinson and “carrying a flagpole with an American flag,” allegedly “attempted to strip an officer of his baton.” Olivia Pollock was knocked back and then “raised her hands in a fighting posture, elbowed the officer in the chest and again tried to strip the baton from the officer.”
IMAGE: Brian Jackson (via Statement of Facts)
13. Brian Jackson:
“We love our president…f— these hoe ass cops that are traitors we f— ed up that capital [sic] up today !!!”
Status: In February, Jackson pleaded guilty to the felonse of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary, Jackson and two others attended President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. The three “later made their way to the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds.”
Brian Jackson posted a video on his Facebook account in which his brother and co-defendant, Adam Lejay Jackson, held a police shield, and Brian Jackson crowed: “Adam got a g—d–shield, stole it from the f— ing popo!” The Jackson brothers and the third individual “then made their way to” the lower west terrace tunnel, which was “the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th.” According to the FBI Task Force Officer’s statement of facts, “Video obtained from U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and from open sources show the same individuals outside of the tunnel in the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol building on January 6, assaulting a line of police officers at around 5:00pm. For example, the … set of images depict Brian Jackson hurling what appears to be an American flag on a light-tan colored pole at police officers.” Jackson took this action just “[s]econds” after Adam Jackson “rammed the police line with his stolen police riot shield.”
According to the DOJ’s summary, Brian Jackson “sent several text messages” after January 6th “expressing his pride in regard to having participated in the violence at the Capitol.” In one message he allegedly wrote: “We love our president and we stood up for America today be proud we did it and f— these hoe ass cops that are traitors we f— ed up that capital [sic] up today !!!”
IMAGE: Taylor James Johnatakis (via U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia)
14. Taylor James Johnatakis:
“Michael Pence has become a traitor to this nation…We are down to the nuclear option.”
Status: In Nov. 2023, a jury found Johnatakis guilty of three felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, as well four misdemeanors.
Description: According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Johnatakis attended President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) on Jan. 6, 2021. As he marched to the U.S. Capitol, Johnatakis posted a video on Facebook and listed his status as “#stopthesteal.” The government quotes Johnatakis as saying:
Trump’s speech is over. It was awesome. Some of you may have seen it online. He went over all the voter fraud. I am very concerned about Mike Pence. I have no idea what he is going to do. Did not love the way the president talked about that. And, I don’t know. We’ll see. Anyways, we’re walking over to the Capitol right now, and I don’t know, maybe we’ll break down the doors.
As he marched onto the U.S. Capitol’s restricted grounds, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Johnatakis “yelled” through his megaphone:
Michael Pence has become a traitor to this nation. He’s been one. We just didn’t want to recognize it or admit it. It’s over. Michael Pence has voted against the president. We are down to the nuclear option.
According to the DOJ’s summary, Johnatakis instigated rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, using a megaphone he brought to do so. He “led a mob of rioters up a staircase on the West Front of the Capitol,” following “right behind … retreating police officers, underneath the scaffolding of the Inaugural Stage.” Johnatakis “was one of the first rioters to reach the top of the southwest staircase, where he was confronted with a line of police barricades and police officers protecting the Capitol.”
According to the DOJ, Johnatakis then “organized and coordinated other rioters to assault the police line at the top of the southwest staircase.” He used his megaphone to direct other rioters “to move up to the police line,” shouting “pack it in! pack it in!” Johnatakis led rioters in a coordinated effort to push bike racks “one foot” at a time, counting through his megaphone “one, two, three, GO!!” Johnatakis and other rioters “grabbed the bike racks in front of them and pushed them forcibly into the line of police officers.” According to the DOJ, “at least one police officer was injured” as a result of this attack.
IMAGES: Matthew Krol (via Statement of Facts)
15. Matthew Krol
Status: In Dec. 2023, Krol was sentenced to 51 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Description: The Department of Justice describes Krol as “a self-professed executive officer of the Genesee County, Michigan Volunteer Militia and associate of the Wolverine Watchmen, an extremist group comprised of individuals convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.”
According to the DOJ’s summary, Krol traveled from Michigan to Washington, D.C., to attend President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House.
After the rally, according to the DOJ, Krol “made his way to the U.S. Capitol building, where he eventually found himself facing off with a line of police officers on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds.” Krol is described as “one of the most active instigators in the violent clash between police and rioters that ultimately forced officers to retreat from the West Plaza.” He “joined the storming of the police line on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds” and “stole a police baton from an officer by pulling the officer in circles before wrestling it away.” Krol then “used that same police baton to strike at least three police officers, badly injuring the right hand” of U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who “experienced significant injuries to his hand.”
IMAGES: Christopher Maurer (via Statement of Facts)
16. Christopher Maurer
Status: Maurer is charged with two felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly and dangerous weapon, as well as five misdemeanors.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary, Maurer allegedly “pushed against police and swung a large pole at police officers who were defending an entrance to the U.S. Capitol on the Lower West Terrace known as ‘the tunnel’ on” Jan. 6, 2021. The tunnel witnessed some of the worst violence that day. After entering the tunnel, Maurer “attempted to pull a police shield and/or strike police officers who were helping another rioter experiencing a medical emergency.” Maurer again then allegedly “joined other rioters in pushing against the police line.”
Maurer left the tunnel only to return later. Maurer allegedly “entered the tunnel for a second time, screaming at and gesturing to officers on the police line.” Officers sprayed Maurer with pepper (or oleoresin capsicum, OC, spray) after which he “screamed at and made obscene gestures at the officers.” Maurer “then picked up what appeared to be a long metal pipe or pole from the ground and swung it at the front line of police officers at the tunnel before leaving the tunnel area again.”
IMAGES: Scott Miller (via Statement of Facts)
17. Scott Miller
Status: In January, Miller pleaded guilty to a felony — assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Miller is a member of Proud Boys’ Maryland Chapter. Miller arrived at the U.S. Capitol late in the afternoon, and “made his way to the Lower West Terrace ‘Tunnel,’ the site of some of the most violent assaults on law enforcement officers that occurred on January 6th.” At the Tunnel entrance, Miller “struck an MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] officer with a long wooden pole multiple times.” Miller then “threw at least five objects at the police in the Tunnel, including a metal pipe or pole, a bottle, a short wooden stick, a large black speaker, and an article of clothing.” He “struck multiple police officers who were defending the tunnel several times by swinging and jabbing a long blue and white pole at their heads.” Miller also “grabbed ahold of a USCP [U.S. Capitol Police] riot shield held by two officers,” “pulled the shield out of their hands and, after a brief struggle, ripped the shield away from the officers.” Miller “then carried the shield back into the crowd behind him and handed it to another rioter.”
![IMAGES (L to R): Nichols can be seen with a megaphone and heard yelling, “This is the second revolution right here folks! […] This is not a peaceful protest.”; Nichols can be seen taking a large, red aerosol canister from another person in the crowd and spraying an unknown agent, believed based on its appearance to be OC/pepper spray, in the direction of the entrance into the U.S. Capitol building. (via Affidavit)](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NICHOLS-RYAN.png?resize=750%2C360&ssl=1)
IMAGES: Ryan Nichols (via Affidavit)
18. Ryan Nichols:
“I’m telling you if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag motherfuckers through the streets.”
Status: In Nov. 2023, Nichols, a former Marine, pleaded guilty to two felonies: assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Nichols and his co-defendant, Alex Kirk Harkrider, traveled from Texas to Washington, D.C. “based on their belief that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.” They allegedly prepared for violence on Jan. 6, 2021, as “each brought two firearms with them on their trip.”
On the night of Jan. 5, 2021, Nichols and Harkrider attended a rally in Washington. Nichols was heard shouting: “Cops don’t know what’s going on. Too many of us, not enough of them.” Nichols later added: “Those people in the f— Capitol building are our enemy.”
The next day, the pair attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) “near the Ellipse” park south of the White House. They then marched to the U.S. Capitol. Nichols “was armed with a crowbar, and Harkrider was armed with a tactical tomahawk axe.” They both wore body armor.
As recounted in the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S Capitol’s final report, Nichols “livestreamed a diatribe as he marched,” echoing President Trump’s “unconstitutional claim that Vice President Pence had the power to decide the election himself.” Nichols recorded himself saying: “I’m hearing that Pence just caved . . . I’m telling you, if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag motherfuckers through the streets.”
“Cut their heads off!” Nichols yelled during the march to the Capitol.
According to the DOJ’s summary, Nichols and Harkrider participated in the violence at the lower west terrace’s tunnel, which was the “site of some of the most violent assaults on law enforcement officers on January 6th.” Nichols “waved the crowd forward toward the Tunnel as both he and Harkrider pushed with the crowd against the officers in synchronized movements, rocking back and forth as the crowd chanted, ‘Heave! Ho!’”
Nichols encouraged “the crowd to push forward” and “took hold” of a canister of pepper spray, delivering “two streams of spray into the Tunnel, hitting multiple law enforcement officers.” Minutes later, Nichols, “holding his crowbar in one hand and a bullhorn in the other,” encouraged rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol through a broken window. The DOJ quotes Nichols as shouting: “Get in the building, this is your country, get in the building, we will not be told ‘No’,” “This is the second revolution,” “This is not a peaceful protest,” and “If you have a weapon, you need to get your weapon!”
In a video recorded after the attack on the Capitol, Nichols claimed the second American revolution had begun, saying it would be “violent” just like the first. “Ryan Nichols stands for violence,” he said in the self-recorded video.
IMAGES: Jonathan Pollock (via Affidavit)
IMAGES: Olivia Pollock (via Affidavit)
19 and 20. Jonathan and Olivia Pollock
Status: Jonathan and Olivia, who are siblings, have been charged with assault, resisting and impeding law-enforcement, among other alleged crimes.
Description: In January 2024, FBI agents arrested Jonathan and Olivia Pollock, along with Joseph Hutchinson (No. 12 above), after a prolonged manhunt. Authorities had attempted to locate Jonathan Pollock since June 2021. In March 2022, the FBI announced a reward of up to $15,000 for Jonathan Pollock’s whereabouts, noting that he is “accused of assaulting multiple police officers with a deadly weapon.” In September 2022, the FBI increased the reward up to $30,000. Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson were arrested in 2021, but disappeared in 2023 after reportedly removing their ankle bracelet monitors. The Pollocks and Hutchinson were initially charged along with two other co-defendants, Joshua Doolin and Michael Perkins, both of whom were found guilty of multiple charges last year.
The Pollock siblings allegedly dressed in paramilitary gear for Jan. 6, 2021. According to the government’s statement of facts, Jonathan Pollock wore “pants, a shirt, ballistic plate-carrier vest, and backpack, all in a multicam-pattern (that is, a particular camouflage pattern print), with distinctive military morale patches on the front of the vest, as well as green kneepads and brown tactical gloves with black, molded plastic knuckles.” Olivia Pollock was “wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with a white flag insignia, a green headband, and a tan ballistic plate-carrier vest with distinctive patches on the front.”
According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Jonathan and Olivia Pollock confronted law enforcement officers on multiple occasions on Jan. 6. Just before 2 p.m., on the west side of the Capitol, Jonathan Pollock “and his younger brother, charged toward a line of police officers while brandishing flagpoles.” Jonathan Pollock allegedly yelled “Let’s go!” while attempting “to push through a metal barricade.” Hutchinson then “grabbed the fence and pulled it back to provide rioters with unobstructed access to the line of police officers.” At that point, Jonathan Pollock allegedly “assaulted three police officers, pulling one down a set of steps, kneeing and punching another in the face, and punching and pushing a third by the neck.”
After the “metal barriers were overrun by rioters,” according to the DOJ’s summary, the “crowd was now held back by a line of police officers with riot shields.” Hutchinson allegedly “charged the line of police officers and began throwing punches.” Jonathan Pollock allegedly “seized a riot shield from an officer and engaged in a tug-of-war-style conflict before pulling the officer down the steps, breaking the officer’s grasp and taking the shield.” Jonathan Pollock “then held the riot shield in front of him, charged up the steps and slammed into the police line.” Perkins “picked up a flagpole and thrust it into the chest of a police officer,” and then “raised the flagpole over his head and appeared to strike an officer in the back of his head.”
“At approximately 2:11 p.m.,” according to the DOJ’s summary, Jonathan Pollock “grappled with another officer and swung his arm to strike the officer while another rioter simultaneously swung at the officer with a flagpole.” Hutchinson “kicked the line of police officers, and Jonathan Pollock seized a riot shield which he thrust into an officer’s throat and face before thrusting the shield towards another officer.” One minute later, “police officers began moving down the steps of the Capitol.” Hutchinson “stepped forward and punched an officer who stumbled” and “then grabbed the jacket sleeve of another officer before throwing them out of his way.” Olivia Pollock, who was following Hutchinson and “carrying a flagpole with an American flag,” allegedly “attempted to strip an officer of his baton.” Olivia Pollock was knocked back and then “raised her hands in a fighting posture, elbowed the officer in the chest and again tried to strip the baton from the officer.”
Just before 3:00 p.m., while “standing on the ledge of the upper west terrace” with his co-defendants, Jonathan Pollock yelled, “Let’s go.” Jonathan Pollock allegedly “climbed to the front of the bleachers, grabbed an officer by the shoulders and attempted to pull him over the railings.” At about 4:20 p.m., the DOJ alleges, Jonathan Pollock “slammed and pushed a riot shield into the line of officers, pinning the officers’ shields and preventing them from defending themselves against the attack” of other rioters. Jonathan Pollock “remained positioned with the riot shield at the entrance of the tunnel, blocking officers from advancing out of the tunnel, until at least 4:46 p.m.”
IMAGES: Christopher Quaglin (via Affidavit)
21. Christopher Quaglin:
“It was wild. The president didn’t lie. It was fuckin’ wild.”
Status: In July 2023, Quaglin was found guilty of 14 charges, including 12 felonies and 2 misdemeanors. Those felony charges include two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury on certain officers, among other felonies and misdemeanors.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Quaglin traveled from New Brunswick, NJ to Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House. Quaglin then “made his way to the U.S. Capitol grounds intending to stop or prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College results.”
In a memorandum in support of pre-trial detention, the government claimed that Quaglin recorded a video of himself as he walked from the Ellipse to the Capitol. The video was posted on a Facebook account using the vanity name “Chris Trump.” In the video, Quaglin says: “Trump is speaking and everyone is walking there. And I am walking there [showing Capitol building to camera]. And I am ready [showing gas mask in hand]. We will see how it goes. Proud of your boy.” That last line – “Proud of your boy” – is a saying commonly used by the Proud Boys.
After arriving on the U.S. Capitol’s grounds, according to the DOJ, Quaglin was seen “repeatedly assaulting multiple law enforcement officers guarding and protecting the Capitol from rioters” at about 1:08 p.m. Video footage recorded Quaglin’s confrontation with Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers, during which he shouted: “You don’t want this fight. You do not want this f****** fight. You are on the wrong f****** side.”
The DOJ describes Quaglin’s assaults on law enforcement officers, explaining that he shoved a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer and then was seen “grabbing and pushing the officer by the neck before working with other rioters to rip one of the barrier fences out of the hands of MPD officers.” In another instance, an officer’s body-worn camera recorded Quaglin “lunging at an officer and pushing him down.” Several officers then “dropped their shields, which Quaglin and other rioters stole and passed back into the crowd.”
Quaglin made his way to the lower west terrace tunnel, where some of the worst violence occurred. Quaglin then “attacked police officers with the stolen riot shield and sprayed them with a chemical irritant, also called OC [pepper] spray.” Among the officers Quaglin sprayed was an “an MPD officer who was not wearing a face shield or gas mask.” Quaglin was also at the front of the rioter’s line as they pushed into officers guarding the west terrace tunnel. Rioters yelled “heave-ho” as they put “their collective mass behind Quaglin and others.”
Media reports have described Quaglin as a member or associate of the Proud Boys. In a memorandum in support of pre-trial detention, the government cited evidence indicating that Quaglin had a “connection” to the Proud Boys. In a separate sentencing memorandum, the government cited a video Quaglin recorded after the riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It was wild. The president didn’t lie. It was fuckin’ wild,” Quaglin stated. Quaglin was likely referring to President Trump’s Dec. 19, 2020 tweet, in which he announced: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
IMAGES: Edward Richmond Jr. (via Statement of Facts)
22. Edward Richmond Jr.
Status: In January, Richmond was arrested and charged with three felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, as well as several misdemeanors.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary, Richmond allegedly joined other rioters at the lower west terrace tunnel, the “site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement officers on January 6th.” The DOJ alleges that both CCTV cameras and officers’ body-worn cameras captured Richmond “using a baton to strike law enforcement officers … multiple times.”
IMAGE: Jeffrey Sabol (via Statement of Facts)
23. Jeffrey Sabol:
A “call to battle was announced” on Jan. 6, 2021
Status: Sabol was sentenced to 63 months in prison after being convicted of three including felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary and sentencing memo, Sabol traveled from Colorado to Washington, D.C. to hear President Trump speak at the “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) on Jan. 6, 2021. Sabol “packed a helmet, a trauma kit, a buck knife, and zip ties” for the trip.
Sabol left the rally, making his way to the U.S. Capitol. The DOJ’s summary indicates that Sabol committed multiple assaults on law enforcement officers over the course of approximately two and a half hours, from 2:04 p.m. to 4:27 p.m. on January 6th. On the West Plaza of the Capitol, Sabol helped push a rioter holding a riot shield “from behind, propelling him forward and up a set of steps, so that the rioter with the shield ran into the line of police.” Sabol himself “kept pushing forward and slammed into a riot shield held by a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officer.” He “continued pushing against the line of officers until a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer pushed him back, causing Sabol to fall down a set of steps.”
On the west side of the Capitol, Sabol “again ran toward the line of officers and, in an attempt to break through, used two hands to push against a riot shield held by one of the officers.” The DOJ explains that “Sabol and the other rioters succeeded in breaking through the police line,” forcing the officers “to fall back” as “the rioters flooded onto the south side of the West Plaza.” As the rioters pushed law enforcement officers “up against the wall supporting the Inaugural stage,” Sabol assisted others as they wrestled with police for control of an officer’s baton and helmet visor.
Sabol joined other rioters at the lower west terrace tunnel, which “was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th.” After another rioter knocked a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer to the ground, Sabol “reached for the officer’s baton, grabbed it, and ripped it out of the officer’s hands.” Sabol “used such force in wresting the baton away from the officer’s grasp that the officer’s torso was lifted off the ground, and Sabol himself fell backward down the steps of the Lower West Terrace.” Sabol also “assisted two rioters in dragging a law enforcement officer down the steps and into the mob, where the rioters beat the officer with a flagpole and a baton.”
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Sabol was “interviewed by FBI agents on multiple occasions.” During those interviews, Sabol said “there was no question that the 2020 election was stolen,” claimed that “he had seen video of ballots being mishandled,” and “knew that Dominion voting machines had been tampered with.” Sabol said he “was very angry about election fraud” and filled with “patriotic rage.” Sabol explained to the FBI agents that a “call to battle was announced” on January 6th and he “answered the call because he was a patriot warrior.”
During his sentencing hearing, Sabol reportedly admitted that he is “100%” guilty. “I accept whatever it is you hand me,” Sabol told the judge. “I’ll be honest: I deserve it.”
IMAGES: Andrew Taake (via Statement of Facts)
24. Andrew Taake
Status: In Dec. 2023, Taake pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
Description: According to the DOJ’s summary, Taake “traveled from Houston to Washington, D.C., to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.” Taake “entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol” and allegedly “sprayed a line of law enforcement officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) with bear spray.” Taake also allegedly “attacked an MPD officer while holding a whip-like weapon.” He entered the Capitol and “made his way to the Crypt and hallways near the Crypt, brandishing the whip-like weapon.”
According to the DOJ, Taake conversed with someone on a dating application later that same day – that is, on Jan. 6. The other person asked whether Taake was “near all the action,” and Taake responded, “Yes, from the very beginning. I was pepper sprayed, tear gassed, had flash bangs thrown at me, and hit with batons for peacefully standing there.” Taake also sent a picture of himself to this individual, saying it was “[a]bout 20 minutes after being pepper sprayed. Safe to say I was the very first person to be sprayed that day … all while just standing there.”
IMAGES: Taylor Taranto (via Statement of Facts)
25. Taylor Taranto:
“So we’re in the Capitol Building … we just stormed it.”
Status: Taranto has been charged with four misdemeanors related to his alleged conduct on Jan. 6, 2021. He was subsequently charged with felony gun-related charges after he drove his van, which contained firearms and ammunition, to a restricted Washington, D.C. neighborhood where President Barack Obama lives.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Taranto joined others at a rally at the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021. He then made his way to the U.S. Capitol, where he was spotted at various locations in and around the building. The DOJ alleges that he made his way to the Speaker’s Lobby, “an area behind the House chamber where Congresspeople were evacuating from the House chamber to a safe location,” at around the time Ashli Babbitt (a Trump supporter who reportedly embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory), was shot as she attempted to climb through a broken window.
The DOJ alleges that in videos recorded on Jan. 6, Taranto said, “So we’re in the Capitol Building … legislative building … we just stormed it.” And a caption on the video read: “This is me ‘stormin’ the capitol’ lol I’m only sharing this so someone will report me to the feds and we can get this party rolling!”
Taranto was arrested on June 29, 2023, after a series of disturbing incidents in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The government described these events in a memorandum in support of pre-trial detention. The narrative that follows is drawn heavily from that memorandum, which was first reported by Politico.
The government describes Taranto as someone “who appears to express delusional beliefs which are inconsistent with reality.” In videos and posts online, according to the government, Taranto has endorsed conspiracy theories, such as that “Babbitt’s death was a hoax and that the first responders and people in the crowd around her were actors.” Taranto has also expressed his “belief that the 2020 election was fraudulent” and embraced “theories that ‘QAnon’ followers promote.” Taranto “does not recognize governmental authority.”
On June 18, 2023, Taranto allegedly livestreamed on YouTube a video of himself at an elementary school in Maryland. According to the government, Taranto and others with him used “a projector to display a film related to January 6.” Taranto explained that he chose the school because it is near where Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, lives. Taranto claimed that Raskin is “one of the guys that hates January 6 people, or more like Trump supporters, and it’s kind of like sending a shockwave through him because I did nothing wrong and he’s probably freaking out and saying shit like, ‘Well he’s stalking me.’” Taranto added, “I didn’t tell anyone where he lives ’cause I want him all to myself,” and “That was Piney Branch Elementary School in Maryland … right next to where Rep. Raskin and his wife live.”
On June 27, 2023, Taranto allegedly posted a video of himself speaking on the phone with someone in then Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office. According to the government, Taranto “repeatedly” asked “to be granted access to video footage from January 6, 2021.” In a video streamed on YouTube the next day, June 28, Taranto allegedly threatened McCarthy, saying: “Coming at you McCarthy. Can’t stop what’s coming. Nothing can stop what’s coming.” According to the government’s summary, Taranto recorded the video from his van, which he claimed was “self-driving” (authorities found steering wheel lock). He allegedly said he had a “detonator,” though he did not “really need one for this,” adding that he would not be near the van when it “goes off.” Taranto stated he was “just going one way for this mission, to hell.” The government alleges that Taranto also “made several statements indicating that he intended to blow up his vehicle at” the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which “has a nuclear reactor on its property.”
Then, on June 29, 2023, former President Trump posted on Truth Social what he claimed was former President Barack Obama’s address. According to the government, Taranto reposted the address on Truth Social and then separately posted on Telegram: “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.” Taranto then drove to a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. that “contains restricted areas which are protected heavily by the United States Secret Service.” Taranto allegedly livestreamed himself as he attempted “to find entrance points and tunnels underneath the private residences of political figures protected by the Secret Service,” claiming that he was just “trying to get an interview” and find the right “angle” and the right “shot.” Taranto peppered his livestream with references to the “First Amendment.” The government alleges that he thought this “absolved him from any trespass.”
After Secret Service agents “approached Taranto, he began fleeing from them.” Taranto was arrested and, during a search of his van, authorities allegedly found “[t]wo firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.”
IMAGES: Curtis Tate (via Statement of Facts)
26. Curtis Tate:
“F— ALL THESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.”
Status: In March, Tate pleaded guilty to three felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Tate attended President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally). After the rally, Tate marched from the Ellipse park south of the White House to the U.S. Capitol, carrying a “metal baton that he had brought with him to D.C.”
Tate “used the metal baton that he had brought with him to strike a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer in the hand.” According to the DOJ’s summary, Tate made his way to the lower west terrace tunnel, which “was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th.” Tate allegedly charged at officers in the tunnel with the baton and “repeatedly struck a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer in the helmet with the metal baton.” Another USCP officer then “sprayed Tate with pepper spray, causing him to retreat from the Tunnel.”
Tate returned to the Tunnel and allegedly threw a “black speaker box” which hit and damaged an office window. Tate also “threw a black speaker box at police officers protecting the entrance to the Tunnel,” striking one MPD officer “in the left arm.” In addition, Tate “threw a shoe at the MPD officer” and assisted other rioters “in passing objects” that were “used as improvised weapons by rioters in the Tunnel, including a broken table leg and a floor lamp.” Tate “assisted by passing a long piece of lumber toward the entrance to the Tunnel” and also “threw the broken table leg and a floor lamp at police officers protecting the entrance to the Tunnel.”
Tate allegedly posted videos of himself on Instagram during the riot. In one video he held the baton that he assaulted the MPD officer with and shouted, “We’re tearing this motherf— down!” In another Instagram video, he held the baton and shouted: “Push forward! Our house!” Inside the lower west terrace tunnel, Tate posted still another video on Instagram with the caption: “F— ALL THESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.”
IMAGES: John George Todd III (via Statement of Facts)
27. John George Todd III:
“I will hip toss you into the f— crowd!”
Status: In February, a jury convicted Todd of felony offenses – including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers that inflicted bodily harm on law enforcement – as well as misdemeanors.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Todd traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) and to “wreak havoc.” After the rally, Todd walked from the Ellipse park south of the White House to the U.S. Capitol, “carrying a makeshift flagpole, which appeared to be made from a tent pole, with a flag tied to the end.”
According to the DOJ, Todd entered the Capitol and “proceeded to the Rotunda” inside the building, “where he encountered multiple United States Capitol Police (USCP) and Metropolitan Police Department Officers (MPD).” The officers repeatedly demanded that the rioters leave, but Todd allegedly resisted, Todd yelled at an MPD officer: “I will hip toss you into the f— crowd!” Todd also yelled, “I’m not f— moving!”
According to the DOJ’s summary, Todd’s flagpole broke during a skirmish with an MPD officer in the Rotunda. Todd “then yanked the pole from the officer’s hand, causing the splintered fragments to gash open the officer’s finger.” Todd then shouted at the officer and others: “Throw down your badge and gun, let’s go one-on-one!” According to the DOJ, the “officer’s injury required hospitalization and stitches.”
Todd allegedly confronted police officers outside the Capitol as well. During one encounter he yelled: “F— you p—! Put your shields down and fight!” After he was ordered to leave the area, Todd was heard saying: “I’m on f— public property, I don’t gotta do anything. My f— taxes pay for this s—I’m on f— public property, I’m not moving.” After he “failed to instigate a fight” with police, according to the DOJ, Todd gave an interview during which he was asked, “What should the people should do now?” Todd responded: “The people should do now is actually stand up and fight, because if we don’t do it now, it’ll never f— happen.”
IMAGES: Douglas Wyatt (via Statement of Facts)
28. Douglas Wyatt
Status: In Sept. 2023, Wyatt pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Description: According to the Department of Justice’s summary, Wyatt traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) and “to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College.”
After the rally, Wyatt walked to the U.S. Capitol. He joined other rioters in an altercation with police, helping to “pull away a bicycle rack barrier from the police line during a struggle between police and rioters.” Wyatt “picked up a long, 4 x 4 wooden plank off the ground and handed it to” his stepson, Jacob Michael Therres, “who took the wooden plank and threw it at the police line.” A short time later, Wyatt “took a chemical spray gun from a black bag on the inaugural stage area on the West Plaza and began spraying law enforcement officers from the inaugural stage.”
IMAGES: Gregory Yetman (via Statement of Facts)
29. Gregory Yetman:
The “corrupt and tyrannical governing class” is the “enemy.”
Status: Yetman has been charged with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as several misdemeanors.
Description: On Nov. 10, 2023, authorities arrested Gregory Yetman, a former New Jersey Army National Guard police officer, after a two-day manhunt.
According to the DOJ, Yetman attended President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally (also known as the “Save America” rally) at the Ellipse park south of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. After the rally, Yetman made his way to the U.S. Capitol, “where he joined the mob.” At about 2:30 pm, Yetman allegedly picked up a canister of MK-46H chemical spray (a form of pepper spray) that another rioter had been using “to spray law enforcement officers defending the U.S. Capitol on the West Front.” Yetman then allegedly “resumed spraying a group of law enforcement officers in front of him on the West Front … for approximately 12-14 seconds” before discarding the canister.
According to a statement of facts filed by an FBI Special Agent, cameras worn by “multiple” Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers recorded Yetman spraying the canister at them. The FBI Special Agent alleges that Yetman “sprayed multiple officers … multiple times while officers were fending off repeated assaults and were being swarmed by rioters positioned on the opposite side.” The FBI Special Agent adds: “None of the officers were proximate to or engaged with YETMAN while he sprayed chemical irritant at the officers.”
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (“CID”) first learned that Yetman was present at the Capitol riot when a tipster pointed to his Facebook posts. In one post, Yetman allegedly wrote that he “supports our President and loves this country, but hates where it’s going thanks to corruption and fraud by a tyrannical governing class.” He admitted to being on the scene, claiming Trump supporters “were there just to protest the sham of an election.” Yetman falsely accused “Antifa members” of “infiltrating our protest,” claiming they “riled up Trump supporters and got the violence going.” (Note: There is no evidence this is true.)
In his Facebook posts, Yetman also denounced the violence directed at the law enforcement officers tasked with defending the Capitol, claiming that as “a service member and military police soldier” he respected them. He also claimed that “most police, first responders, and service members love and support Trump because he loves and respects us.” In one post, Yetman also wrote: “I didn’t get involved with the violence.” The FBI concluded otherwise and Yetman was charged with two felonies, as well as several misdemeanors.