Over the weekend, federal and local authorities continued to make arrests related to the riot at the Capitol last Wednesday. According to an Associated Press analysis published Monday, January 11th, about 90 people are currently facing charges that range from misdemeanor curfew violations to felonies related to assaulting police officers or making death threats.
Among those now facing charges are several figures who featured prominently in the footage from the chaos. The so-called “QAnon Shaman,” Jake Angeli of Arizona, was picked up last week, as was Adam Christian Johnson of Florida, who was pictured smiling and waving while carrying around Nancy Pelosi’s lectern like a trophy.
Other high profile arrests include Richard Barnett, who was photographed with his feet up in Pelosi’s office; Eric Gavelek Munchel, who was seen hopping over Capitol seats in military-style garb, holding a bunch of zip ties; and Derrick Evans, a Republican elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in November, who has since resigned after being hit with two federal charges. Doug Jensen, who was seen on video chasing a police officer, was also arrested, as was Nicholas Ochs, founder of the Proud Boys chapter in Hawaii, and Cleveland Grover Meredith, Jr., who was accused of making threats against Pelosi and possessing unregistered firearms.
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Johnson, the man with the lectern, was booked into a Pinellas County, Florida jail Friday night on a first degree felony charge related to the ransacking of the Capitol. According to the Department of Justice, Johnson was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; one count of theft of government property; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
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In the viral photograph from Wednesday’s raid, a man authorities believe is Johnson was pictured smiling and waving while carrying around Pelosi’s lectern; Pelosi’s office was broken into and vandalized during the Capitol siege. The status of the lectern is unknown.
Police records state that the 36-year-old Johnson is a resident of Parrish, Florida. According to voting records, he is not affiliated with any major political party, and he voted only in the 2004 and 2020 presidential elections, NBC Miami reports.
The Department of Justice also announced charges against the “QAnon Shaman,” who was apprehended Saturday. “Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, of Arizona, was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Chansley was taken into custody today,” the Department of Justice wrote.
“It is alleged that Chansley was identified as the man seen in media coverage who entered the Capitol building dressed in horns, a bearskin headdress, red, white and blue face paint, shirtless, and tan pants. This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade.”
Angeli was identified soon after the riot thanks to his unique costume and reputation as a fixture at similar Arizona pro-Trump rallies. It’s unclear where Angeli was apprehended, but NBC News reported that Angeli was in the midst of a road trip back to Arizona as recently as Thursday afternoon.
“The fact that we had a bunch of our traitors in office hunker down, put on their gas masks and retreat into their underground bunker, I consider that a win,” Angeli boasted to NBC News of the Capitol riot.
Federal authorities have so far arrested and charged over a dozen people (and counting) following the Capitol raid; those charges include knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and theft of public property or records, which — thanks to an executive order that Donald Trump pushed through as president — carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
From Rolling Stone US
