A Kansas man and his brother were arrested on Friday on several federal charges related to his alleged involvement in the United States Capitol riot last month.
William Pope of Topeka was arrested by the FBI and Topeka police without incident and was held without bail in Shawnee County Prison.
He acknowledged his involvement in the riot and said he had not been violent, but added that he later reported to the FBI because “it was the right thing to do”.
“I was on Capitol Hill to exercise my First Amendment rights and remain loyal to the United States of America,” said Pope, according to Topeka Capital-Journal. “The best way to repair the structure of our society is to maintain people’s confidence in their government institutions.”
William Pope of Topeka was arrested on Friday at Shawnee County Prison in Topeka, Kansas (Shawnee County Corrections Department via AP)
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Pope, 35, ran for Topeka City Council last year and, in October 2020, was listed as a member of the Republican district committee in Shawnee County. He also briefly worked as an entry-level auditor for the Legislative Post-Audit Division, the state’s official audit agency until 2019.
Pope was also an adjunct instructor at Fort Hays State University from January 2016 until May 2020. And he was listed as a doctoral student in the communications studies department at Kansas State University on Friday.
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Kansas state spokeswoman Michelle Geering said the university was conducting an internal review and would not comment on future personal actions.
Fort Hays State University spokesman Scott Cason said the school was not aware of any cases where Pope’s political views were included in his teaching, said Cason.
He was accused of civil disorder; enter and remain in a restricted building or land; obstructing or impeding any official procedure; disorderly and disturbing conduct in a restricted building or land; preventing passage through the Capitol grounds of the buildings; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parade, demonstrate or picket in a Capitol building, said the FBI, according to Capital-Journal.
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His brother Michael Pope of Sandpoint, Idaho, was also arrested on Friday and charged with the same crimes, the newspaper reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.