Police charged more rioters in the Capitol on Saturday as more graphic details of the uprising emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the mob storming a seat of US political power.
A bloody officer was filmed in a doorway screaming during Wednesday’s siege, which forced lawmakers into hiding for hours, delaying their vote to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory. Another officer tumbled over a railing in the crowd below after being hit with the body from behind. Members of the media were cursed, pushed and beaten.
A large number of photos and videos captured the riot, in which five people were killed. Many of the photos were taken by the rioters themselves, few of whom wore masks that would have reduced not only their chances of contracting the coronavirus, but also their chances of being identified. Some did their best to stand out.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, an Arizona man who appeared in photos and videos with a painted face wearing a costume with a horned fur hat, was taken into custody Saturday and charged with charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol.
Chansley, better known as Jake Angeli, will remain in custody in Arizona pending a hearing on detention at an initial trial in court early next week, assistant attorney Esther Winne said. Chansley did not immediately respond to messages left by email and phone.
A staple of his costume at pro-Trump protests around the country, Chansley is one of dozens arrested in the wake of the Capitol invasion by a large crowd of Trump supporters outraged by his election loss. The rioters took over the rooms of the House and Senate, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags.
A Florida man accused of being away with House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern was arrested Friday night under federal warrant and was held without bail in Pinellas County, Florida. Prison records did not reveal whether Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, had a lawyer.
Johnson was charged with theft, violent entry, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The married father of five was quickly identified on social media as the man in a photo who smiled as he walked through the Capitol rotunda with Pelosi’s lectern, the Bradenton Herald reported.
He posted on social media that he was in Washington DC during Wednesday’s riots and recorded scornful comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Herald. Those messages were later deleted or deleted.
During Wednesday’s violence, Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick was injured in a confrontation with attackers, reportedly hit by a fire extinguisher. He died on Thursday evening. Another officer was crushed in a doorway, but it was unclear what happened to that officer, whose condition was captured on camera and shared by the progressive organization Status Coup. Members of media organizations, including the AP and the New York Times, were attacked.
On Saturday, prosecutors had filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 in the District of Columbia Higher Court for crimes ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the Capitol, stealing federal property, and threatening legislators.
Prosecutors said more cases remained sealed, dozens were searched by federal agents, and the US attorney in Washington swore that “all options were on the table” for charges, including possible incitement.
Doug Jensen, an Iowa man, was jailed early on Saturday on federal charges, including violations and disorderly conduct. Jensen, 41 and from Des Moines, was held without bond in Polk Jail. Sheriff’s Sergeant Ryan Evans said he didn’t know if Jensen had a lawyer.
A video posted online during the storming of the Capitol showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, chasing a black officer down an interior staircase as a crowd chases a few steps behind them. At various times the officer says “go back”, but to no avail.
Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who, in a frequently seen photo, sits in Pelosi’s office with his boots on her desk, was arrested by the FBI on Friday. Barnett, 60, turned himself in to the Benton County sheriff’s office in Bentonville and was jailed at the Washington County Detention Center in nearby Fayetteville, without bond pending an initial appearance in court, an FBI spokesman said. No lawyer was mentioned.
Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state legislator who posted videos showing himself making his way to the Capitol, was arrested by the FBI on Friday and charged with trespassing on banned federal property.
Evans, who faced bipartisan calls to resign, filed a letter of resignation with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice on Saturday, apologizing for his actions. Evans is accused of entering a restricted area of the Capitol after livestreaming himself and bursting into the building with a horde of Trump supporters. The videos show Evans bumping his fist into a police officer and then walking around the roundabout shouting, “Our house!”