Yahoo Movies Capitol riot arrests: The MAGA mob leaders arrested so far
Five people died during the violent insurrection, including a Capitol Police officer who was reportedly hit on the head with a fire extinguisher.
(EPA)More than 120 people have been arrested since the storming of the Capitol by rioters loyal to Donald Trump who disrupted the verification of the electoral college vote by Congress.
Five people died during the violent insurrection, including a Capitol Police officer who was reportedly hit on the head with a fire extinguisher, and a rioter who was shot by law enforcement as the mob attempted to get close to the House chamber. Three more people died of “medical emergencies” during the chaos.
Some of those who entered the building searched for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and chanted for Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged. Both lawmakers were in secure locations.
President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday: "I think it's critically important that there be a real, serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people's lives, defaced public property, caused great damage – that they be held accountable."
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Arrests continue to be made as the FBI combs through photos, video, and more than 40,000 tips in addition to leads submitted over the phone. Charges include unlawful entry, firearms-related crimes, and violations of the curfew imposed on the District of Columbia.
These are the most notable arrests to date.
Jake Angeli
Jacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, was photographed storming the Capitol wearing horns and carrying a spear. Pictures of him went viral early on in the assault on Congress.
Sometimes referred to as the “QAnon shaman”, Mr Angeli, was charged with entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Chansley, from Arizona, was taken into custody on Saturday, a Department of Justice statement confirmed.
“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," officials said. “This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade.”
Richard Barnett
Richard Barnett, the supporter of Mr Trump pictured sitting with his feet on Speaker Pelosi’s desk, was arrested and charged with entering and remaining on restricted grounds, violent entry, and theft of public property, said the Justice Department.
Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Arkansas, had boasted that he took a personalised envelope from Ms Pelosi’s desk and left her a quarter and a “nasty note”.
He also claimed that he had “politely” knocked on the Democrat’s office door but was swept inside by a group of rioters.
Adam Johnson
The man photographed carrying Speaker Pelosi’s lectern through the halls of the Capitol was identified as Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, Florida.
He is being held in Pinellas County Jail following his alleged involvement in the riots and was booked into jail at 9pm on Friday under a US Marshall's warrant.
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”, according to a statement released by the FBI.
The image of him grinning and waving at cameras while holding Ms Pelosi’s lectern went viral on social media. A local newspaper The Bradenton Herald and other news outlets quickly identified him.
Derrick Evans
Derrick Evans resigned his position as a state lawmaker in West Virginia after being arrested and charged with entering a restricted area of the Capitol after he livestreamed himself with rioters.
Evans, 35, appeared before a federal judge in Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday after being arrested. If convicted, he faces up to a year and a half in federal prison for two misdemeanor charges: entering a restricted area and disorderly conduct.
He issued a statement on Saturday, saying that he takes full responsibility for his actions. In a since-deleted video that was widely shared online, Evans is seen clamouring inside a jam-packed Capitol building doorway, trying with others to push his way inside.
He hollers along with other loyalists of President Donald Trump and fist-bumps a law enforcement officer.
Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr
Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr wrote multiple text messages that said he wanted to shoot or run over Speaker Pelosi on Wednesday as Donald Trump’s supporters stormed Congress.
The alleged rioter, who has been charged with writing threats and possessing a firearm and ammunition, is said to have written in a text that he wanted to put “a bullet in [Nancy Pelosi’s] noggin on Live TV”.
According to arrest documents, he wrote in another that he was headed to Washington DC with “a s**t ton of … armour piercing ammo”, along with other messages about running over the House speaker.
Federal agents found weapons in his trailer parked near his hotel in Washington. They included a Glock handgun, a pistol, a Tavor X95 assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Eric Gavelek Munchel
Eric Gavelek Munchel was taken into custody in Nashville on Sunday according to the Justice Department. Several weapons were recovered at the time of his arrest.
Munchel was one of two men photographed wearing military gear and holding plastic restraints inside the Capitol building, alerting authorities to the likelihood that some of those who stormed Congress intended to take hostages.
The former bartender entered the building with his mother, both wearing bulletproof vests.
Larry Brock
Larry Brock of Texas was reportedly identified from photographs by his ex-wife. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, a veteran with more than 20 years of service, was pictured wearing military attire, including a green helmet, tactical vests, and black and camo jacket.
As with Munchel, Brock was also seen in possession of white flex cuff restraints used by law enforcement to detain suspects. He was seen on the floor of the Senate and in video coming out of Speaker Pelosi’s office.
Doug Jensen
Doug Jensen, 41, was arrested by the FBI on Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, after returning home from the riot. A photographer captured images of him confronting Capitol Police officers outside of the Senate chamber on Wednesday.
Jensen was wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with a large Q and the phrase “Trust The Plan”, a reference to QAnon.
His older brother, William Routh, told the Associated Press on Saturday that Jensen believed that the person posting on social media as Q was either Trump or someone very close to the president.
“I feel like he had a lot of influence from the Internet that confused or obscured his views on certain things,” said Mr Routh, of Clarksville, Arkansas, who described himself as a Republican Trump supporter. “When I talked to him, he thought that maybe this was Trump telling him what to do.”
Bradley Rukstales
Bradley Rukstales, 52, the CEO of a marketing firm in Illinois, was arrested for taking part in the breach of the Capitol and charged with unlawful entry, according to WBEZ.
In a statement on Thursday, Rukstales, who is from Inverness, Illinois, and president of the data-analytics firm Cogensia, apologised and said that he regrets the embarrassment it has caused his friends and family.
In a brief interview with CBS, he said: “I had nothing to do with charging anybody or anything or any of that – I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I regret my part in that. And that’s all I’m comfortable saying.”
Cognesia distanced itself from Rukstales’ actions and placed him on leave while the company further assesses the situation.
Josiah Colt
Josiah Colt, 34, turned himself in at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Boise, Idaho on Tuesday afternoon. He could be seen in photos hanging off the Senate balcony and sitting in the Senate chair where Vice President Mike Pence had been minutes earlier.
An FBI agent said a relative confirmed that it was Mr Colt seen the pictures in an affidavit. In a Facebook video posted after the insurrection, Mr Colt incorrectly claimed that he was the first to sit in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's chair, CNN reported.
Mr Colt told KBOI-TV in Idaho: "In the moment I thought I was doing the right thing. I realise now that my actions were inappropriate and I beg for forgiveness from America and my home state of Idaho."
Robert Keith Packer
Mr Packer, 56, could be seen in several images from the riot wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" shirt. He was put into Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk, Virginia on Wednesday morning, according to NBC News.
He was charged with two federal offences: entering or remaining in a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct while on capitol grounds. He was released without posting bail and was told by a judge to stay out of DC unless required to be there for his case.
The "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt was one of many antisemitic symbols seen at the Capitol during the riot, the Associated Press reported.
Aaron Mostofsky
Aaron Mostofsky, 34, is the son of a Brooklyn judge and could be seen at the Capitol wearing fur pelts and carrying police gear. He was arrested on Tuesday at his brother's house in Brooklyn, The Daily Beast reported.
Mr Mostofsky is the son of leading members of the Orthodox Jewish community. His father is Kings County Supreme Court Judge Shlomo Mostofsky.
He has been charged with four offences: Felony theft of government property, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, intent to impede government business and disorderly conduct in the Capitol.
Kevin Seefried
Kevin Seefried, 50, was captured in a shocking photograph carrying the Confederacy battle flag outside the Senate chamber as violence unfolded during the riots.
The man and his son, Hunter Seefried, turned themselves in after arrest warrants were issued, the FBI said.
Both men have been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and one count of depredation of government property.
Robert Sanford
Robert Sanford, 55, from Pennsylvania, was allegedly caught on video throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers during the riots.
Mr Sanford had recently retired from the Chester Fire Department and was arrested on charges that include assault of a police officer, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and unlawfully entering the Capitol.
His arrest is not connected to the death of Officer Brian Sicknick, who also was attacked with a fire extinguisher during the storming of the Capitol.
With additional reporting by The Associated Press
