Police accused more Capitol protesters on Saturday when more graphic details of the uprising emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the crowd that invaded a seat of U.S. political power.
A bloodied officer was filmed and smashed on a door and shouting during Wednesday’s siege, which forced lawmakers to hide for hours, delaying their vote to claim Joe Biden’s victory. Another officer fell over a handrail in the crowd below, after being hit from behind. Media members were cursed, pushed and punched.
A large number of photos and videos captured the rebellion, which left five people dead. Many of the images were taken by the protesters themselves, few of whom wore masks that would have decreased not only their chances of getting the coronavirus, but also of being identified. Some struggled to stand out.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, an Arizona man seen in photos and videos with his face painted and wearing a costume that included a horned fur hat, was taken into custody on Saturday and accused of charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Hill.
Chansley, better known as Jake Angeli, will remain in custody in Arizona pending a detention hearing that will be scheduled during an initial court hearing early next week, assistant prosecutor Esther Winne said. Chansley did not immediately respond to messages left over email and phone.
Chansley, a leading figure in his attire in pro-Trump protests across the country, is among the dozens arrested in the wake of the Capitol invasion by a large crowd of Trump supporters enraged by his electoral defeat. The rioters occupied the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags.
A Florida man accused of running away with mayor Nancy Pelosi’s pulpit was arrested Friday night with a federal warrant and was held without bail in Pinellas County, Florida. The prison records did not show whether Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida, had a lawyer.
Johnson was accused of theft, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The married man, father of five, was quickly identified on social media as the man in a photo smiling as he walked around the Capitol roundabout carrying Pelosi’s pulpit, the Bradenton Herald reported.
He posted on social media that he was in Washington DC during the riots on Wednesday and included derogatory comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Herald. These posts were later deleted or taken down.
During Wednesday’s violence, Capitol Policeman Brian Sicknick was injured in a confrontation with attackers, allegedly hit by a fire extinguisher. He died on Thursday night. Another police officer was crushed at a door, but it was unclear what happened to that policeman, whose situation was captured by the 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 lawsuits in the federal district court and 40 in the District of Columbia high court for crimes ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of Capitol Hill, theft of federal property and threats to lawmakers.
Prosecutors said other cases remain confidential, dozens are being sought by federal agents and that the United States attorney in Washington has promised that “all options were on the table” for the charges, including possible sedition.
Doug Jensen, an Iowa man, was arrested on Saturday morning on federal charges, including trespassing and charges of disorderly conduct. Jensen, 41, of Des Moines, was held without bail in Polk County Prison. Sheriff Sergeant Ryan Evans said he didn’t know if Jensen had a lawyer.
The video posted online during the attack on the Capitol showed a man who appears to be Jensen, who is white, chasing a black officer down an internal flight of stairs while a crowd follows a few steps behind. At several points, the policeman says “come back”, without success.
Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man shown in a widely seen photo sitting in Pelosi’s office with his boots on his desk, was arrested on Friday by the FBI. Barnett, 60, turned himself in to the Benton County sheriff’s office in Bentonville and was arrested at the Washington County Detention Center near Fayetteville, without bail while he went to court, an FBI spokesman said. No lawyers were listed.
Derrick Evans, a West Virginia state legislator who posted videos showing himself making his way into the Capitol, was arrested on Friday by the FBI and accused of entering restricted federal property.
Evans, who faced bipartisan calls to resign, presented a letter of resignation on Saturday to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and apologized for his actions. Evans faces charges that he entered a restricted area of the Capitol after having broadcast himself running to the building with a horde of Trump supporters. In the videos, Evans is seen hitting his fist on a policeman and then spinning around the roundabout while shouting, “Our home!”