The four-hour insurrection that breached the U.S. Capitol brought the democratic process to a stunning halt and left one police officer and four others dead. Now, the country is seeking accountability.
Authorities say they could ultimately arrest hundreds, building some of their cases with the social media posts and live streams of alleged participants who triumphantly broadcast images of the mob. Investigations into possible charges encompass not only trespassing but also assaults on law enforcement, theft of national security and defense information, felony murder and more.
“The gamut of cases is mind-blowing,” said Michael R. Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
The stories of those arrested — just a fraction of the thousands who gathered Jan. 6 at President Trump’s urging — illustrate how a baseless campaign to overturn the election led to conspiracy theorists and aggrieved Trump supporters violently storming the Capitol.
Here are some of the people who face charges.
Trump supporter Richard “Bigo” Barnett was photographed sitting at a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Barnett was arrested and could face a year in prison. (Washington County Sheriff/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Richard “Bigo” Barnett , 60, of Gravette, Ark., was captured in a widely shared image that showed the Trump supporter and self-described “white nationalist” sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, his left foot propped up on a desk. The photo and Barnett’s interviews with the news media prompted law enforcement to search databases and confirm his identity, according to acting attorney general Jeffrey A. Rosen, who called the images “shocking” and “repulsive.”
Barnett is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public money, property or records.
An attorney for Barnett did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Larry Rendell Brock, seen in the well of the Senate chamber holding white zip-tie cuffs — plastic restraints that police use to detain people, prosecutors said. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
Larry Rendell Brock, a 53-year-old retired Air Force lieutenant colonel from Texas, was pictured in the well of the Senate chamber wearing a green combat helmet and holding white zip-tie handcuffs, plastic restraints used by police to detain people, prosecutors said. He is charged with one count of knowingly entering a restricted building and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct.
Speaking to the New Yorker , Brock echoed the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and said he assumed he was welcome to enter the building. “The President asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there,” he said.
Brock did not respond to a request for comment, and his public defender could not immediately be reached.
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Jenny Cudd, left, leaves the federal courthouse in Midland, Tex., on Jan. 13, 2021. (Jacob Ford/Odessa American/AP)
Jenny Cudd was arrested and charged in federal court with entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry or disorderly conduct.
Authorities say the 36-year-old florist from western Texas was photographed in the Capitol Rotunda with a Trump flag draped over her shoulders, and soon after launched a live stream boasting, “We did break down … Nancy Pelosi’s office door.” An FBI agent said in a statement of facts that in addition to the photographs and live stream, he reviewed security footage showing Cudd entering the building, taking pictures in the Rotunda and roaming the halls.
An attorney for Cudd in D.C. declined to comment on the charges. Cudd denied wrongdoing in an interview with a Midland, Tex., television station , saying she did not mean for it to be taken literally when she said “we” broke into Pelosi’s office. “Do I think that it was wrong for me to go through an open door and get inside of the Capitol? No I don’t,” she said in a separate interview with a CBS affiliate . “I didn’t break any laws. I didn’t do anything unlawful.”
Jacob Anthony Chansley was one of the most distinctive individuals roaming the Capitol Wednesday: shirtless and tattooed, wearing face paint and a headdress made of coyote skin and buffalo horns. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Chansley was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. (Stephanie Keith/Reuters)
Jacob Anthony Chansley was arrested after storming into the Capitol shirtless and wearing a headdress of buffalo horns and coyote fur. Speaking to The Washington Post , the Phoenix resident expressed ardent support for the QAnon conspiracy movement and Trump’s false claim that there was widespread fraud in the presidential election.
“What we did on Jan. 6 in many ways was an evolution in consciousness, because as we marched down the street along these ley lines, shouting ‘USA’ or shouting things like ‘freedom’ … we were actually affecting the quantum realm,” Chansley told The Post.
Chansley was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
The Post spoke to him before his arrest and could not immediately reach him afterward. His public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Authorities say they arrested Lonnie Coffman after finding him with a cache of weapons in his pickup truck the day of the Capitol riots. (U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia)
Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 70, of Falkville, Ala., was arrested after authorities found him with a cache of weapons in his red GMC pickup truck the day of the riot, according to prosecutors .
Coffman is accused of carrying 11 Mason jars filled with gasoline and melted plastic foam — which an FBI affidavit said could produce a “napalm-like” explosion of sticky, flammable liquid — in addition to a rifle, a shotgun, two 9mm pistols, a .22-caliber pistol, five types of ammunition and a large-capacity magazine, all loaded and unregistered and unlicensed in the District of Columbia. Coffman had an apparent license to carry a pistol in Alabama, prosecutors said.
A federal grand-jury indictment charged him with 16 counts of D.C. firearms violations and one federal firearms count. He also possessed a crossbow, several machetes, a stun gun and smoke devices, prosecutors said. In an earlier criminal complaint from U.S. Capitol Police, he was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device and one count of carrying a pistol without a license under D.C. law.
Coffman’s assistant federal defender declined to comment.
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U.S. Capitol Police encountered Matthew Ross Council in a group of rioters who broke through an emergency door, according to a probable-cause statement from the arresting officer. As the mob pushed their way in, Council shoved an officer, the document said. Officers pepper-sprayed him and took him into custody.
Council, 49, had apparently come to Washington from Riverview, Fla., a southeastern suburb of Tampa where Council has worked as a self-employed marketing and sales communications consultant, according to his LinkedIn biography. A former football player at Virginia’s Liberty University, the conservative evangelical institution, Council appears to have dabbled in politics, as well. He worked on at least one unsuccessful Republican campaign for the North Carolina House of Representatives roughly 10 years ago and also pursued political science courses at Seminole State in 2011.
The arresting Capitol Police officer said that as he read Council his Miranda rights last Wednesday, he “spontaneously expressed remorse about pushing the officer and indicated that he did not intend to injure her.”
Council did not respond to requests for comment; a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said no attorney had been listed to represent him yet.
In a since-deleted Facebook Live video, former West Virginia Republican lawmaker Derrick Evans streamed footage of rioters prying open Capitol doors. (Perry Bennett/AP)
Former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans (R), 35, was among the most high-profile arrests after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He announced his resignation from the West Virginia House of Delegates a day after he was taken into custody and, according to the Justice Department, charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, in addition to one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Federal prosecutors allege that in a since-deleted Facebook Live video, Evans streamed footage of rioters prying open Capitol doors, before he crossed the threshold of the doorway himself and can be seen on video shouting: “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol! ”
Resigning less than four weeks after he was sworn into office, Evans expressed regret but did not admit wrongdoing. An attorney for Evans, John H. Bryan, has maintained that Evans is innocent, that he was not part of the violent mob that damaged the Capitol and that he was exercising his First Amendment rights.
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David Ray Fitzgerald, a 48-year-old tattoo artist from Roselle, Ill., said he did not venture into the Capitol but was arrested on charges of a curfew violation and unlawful entry as he stood in the parking lot. He has pleaded not guilty, court records show.
The father of seven said he doesn’t usually vote but became a staunch Trump fan over the past year as he spent days in quarantine reading up on the president’s attitudes toward trade agreements and abortion. “I’m not a ‘deranged Trump supporter,’ ” he said. “I’m an American supporter, and I think that there’s only one person on the ticket that has the same values as I do.”
Fitzgerald and friends pooled their resources to organize the drive and book a Holiday Inn room for the Jan. 6 rally, driven by their hope that Trump could still win the election. Fitzgerald said he only watched the chaos from the grass and didn’t venture into the Capitol.
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Jacob Fracker, 29, and Thomas Robertson, 47, both officers with the Rocky Mount Police Department in Virginia, were arrested for their alleged actions at the Capitol and have been placed on administrative leave.
An arrest affidavit says the FBI had information that Robertson and Fracker were photographed in the Capitol between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 6 making an “obscene statement” in front of a statue, while off-duty.
According to the affidavit by U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent Vincent Veloz, a now-deleted Facebook post by Fracker was captioned: “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around. … Sorry I hate freedom? … Not like I did anything illegal … y’all do what you feel you need to.”
Robertson told a local news station that they were allowed entry by Capitol Police and did not participate in any violence. Both Robertson and Fracker said in court they were military veterans.
The Post was unable to reach the officers, and it was not clear if they have attorneys.
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Leonard Guthrie Jr., a 48-year-old resident of Cape May, N.J., said he broke through a police barrier to reach the U.S. Capitol steps and readily admits his transgressions, bluntly telling The Post, “I broke the law.”
He was arrested for unlawful entry. He said he hasn’t often been well enough to work since having two surgeries on his back. In the absence of employment, he has heavily leaned into his Christian beliefs and conservative political views, he said. When he heard about the “Stop the Steal” rally, Guthrie said he thought he could combine his two passions. If he and other Christians had been able to pray outside while senators voted inside, he feels certain it would have changed their votes.
“I know it would have,” he said. He says he feels aggrieved. “We’ve been silenced for so long,” he said. “For years, because I voted for Trump, I’m called a racist, a Nazi, a bigot and all that stuff, and it’s not right.”
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Douglas Jensen, a 41-year-old laborer from Des Moines, is facing federal charges after photos and video captured him leading rioters up a staircase at the U.S. Capitol. (Polk County Jail/AP)
Douglas Jensen, a 41-year-old laborer from Des Moines, is facing federal charges after he was captured in photos and videos leading rioters up a staircase as a police officer attempted to hold the crowd back.
Jensen’s boss, Dick Felice, who owns Forrest & Associate Masonry, said he terminated Jensen’s employment. “He committed a crime, as far as I’m concerned,” Felice said.
Jensen could not be reached for comment, and his attorneys did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
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A photo of Adam Johnson carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern — smiling and waving at the camera — went viral amid efforts to identify rioters at the Capitol. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
Adam Johnson has been 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. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters)
Adam Johnson, 36, of Bradenton, Fla., was photographed carrying Pelosi’s lectern through the building and waving at the cameras. The widely circulated images led to his arrest just days later. Johnson also streamed on Facebook Live while inside the Capitol and posted on his social media accounts that he was in Washington, the Tampa Bay Times reported .
Johnson has been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in a 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.
An attorney for Johnson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Cleveland G. Meredith Jr. of Colorado was arrested Jan. 7 and later charged with interstate communication of threats and several weapons violations after the FBI received information about his alleged threats and presence in Washington.
Meredith arrived in Washington on the day of the planned pro-Trump rally with an assault-style rifle outfitted with a telescopic sight, a Glock firearm with high-capacity magazines and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition, according to federal prosecutors . Federal investigators later found through cellphone records that Meredith sent multiple text messages to friends between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7 threatening violence against Pelosi and others, court records show.
The Post could not reach Meredith, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Aaron Mostofsky, who has since been arrested, was photographed inside the Capitol wearing what appear to be several fur pelts, a bulletproof vest and a riot shield. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Mostofsky, the son of a Brooklyn judge, faces charges including violent or disorderly conduct at the Capitol and theft of government property exceeding $1,000. (Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)
Aaron Mostofsky, the 34-year-old son of a Kings County Supreme Court judge, was arrested at his brother’s Brooklyn home Tuesday and faces four charges, including felony theft of government property.
Mostofsky attracted attention from photographers and videographers after he was seen in the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing what appear to be several fur pelts, a U.S. Capitol Police bulletproof vest and a riot shield. The widely circulated images, which included Mostofsky speaking briefly to the New York Post, quickly drew the notice of federal investigators.
Mostofsky’s attorney, Jeffrey T. Schwartz, declined to comment but told ABC New York that his client was not part of the mob action. “He was not rampaging. He got caught up in it.”
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Eric Gavelek Munchel, of Tennessee, was charged in federal court for his alleged participation in the Capitol riots. (Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn./AP)
Eric Gavelek Munchel, of Tennessee, was arrested in his home state after allegedly participating in the storming of the Capitol. He was charged in federal court with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
A person authorities believe was Munchel was photographed climbing over a railing in the Senate gallery carrying plastic restraints and wearing an item in a holster on his right hip, according to the Justice Department . The person also had a cellphone mounted on his chest with the camera facing outward.
“It was a kind of flexing of muscles,” Munchel told the Sunday Times of his role at the Capitol. “The intentions of going in were not to fight the police. The point of getting inside the building is to show them that we can, and we will.”
Munchel, his family and his neighbors did not respond to calls from The Post, and his attorney did not immediately return an inquiry.
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Klete Keller, a 38-year-old five-time Olympic medalist, was spotted on video wearing a Team USA jacket in the Capitol Rotunda during the riots.
He was charged with violent entry, obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct after FBI agents used video and other evidence to confirm his presence inside the Capitol, records show. The swimmer represented the United States at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
Standing 6-foot-6 and wearing a familiar Olympic jacket, Keller was easy to identify for many swimmers, coaches and officials who had competed with and against him over the years; two of whom told The Post they recognized the maskless Keller in the footage. In the video, he can be seen in the Rotunda, at one point amid a mob of Trump supporters and law enforcement officers pushing against each other.
Keller has made no public comments about his presence at the Capitol and did not return phone messages or emails seeking comment Monday. By Tuesday, his telephone was no longer accepting messages.
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Several photographs taken at the Capitol show a man identified as Robert Keith Packer wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Camp Auschwitz” above a skull and crossbones. (Western Tidewater Regional Jail/AP)
Robert Keith Packer, 56, of Newport News, Va., is charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct on restricted Capitol grounds.
Multiple photographs taken at the Capitol show a man identified as Packer wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Camp Auschwitz” above a skull and crossbones, the FBI concluded . Beneath the skull was the phrase “Work brings freedom,” a rough English translation of the German words that hung over one of the gates of the Nazi death camp where more than 1.1 million people were killed during World War II.
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Bradley Rukstales, then-CEO of a Chicago-area data analytics company, faces charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
In a public statement, he said he entered the Capitol through open doors to “see what was taking place inside” and condemned “the violence and destruction that took place in Washington.”
“It was the single worst personal decision of my life,” he wrote.
Rukstales was fired from his job, according to a statement by his former employer, and did not respond to a Post reporter’s requests for further comment. An attorney for Rukstales could not immediately be reached.
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Authorities say Kevin Seefried, of Delaware, was pictured carrying a Confederate flag inside the Capitol. (Mike Theiler/Reuters)
Authorities say Kevin Seefried, of Delaware, was pictured carrying a Confederate flag inside the Capitol and told FBI investigators he brought it from his home, where he normally displays it outside.
He and his son Hunter Seefried were among the first group to break into the Capitol and were identified by law enforcement after a co-worker of Hunter’s reported that he bragged about being in the building, according to court records.
Both men were charged with trespassing, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. They could not be reached for comment.
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Douglas Sweet, of Virginia, faces charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
His daughter Robyn Sweet described him as a self-employed handyman in his late 50s who lives in rural Virginia and became increasingly fixated with conspiracy theories after Barack Obama was elected president. After Trump rose to power, Sweet said, her father attended the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017 and has discussed baseless conspiracy theories spread by QAnon followers.
Douglas Sweet could not be reached for comment. After his arrest, he posted a message on Facebook saying he was released on his own recognizance and described the unlawful-entry charge as “a citation equal to ticket.” It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
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About this story
The Washington Post is regularly updating this list of individuals charged in connection with the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Reporting by Derek Hawkins, Hannah Knowles, Kim Bellware, Spencer S. Hsu, Amy Brittain, Meagan Flynn, Rachel Weiner, Nicole Dungca, Jenn Abelson, Lateshia Beachum, Paulina Villegas, Rick Maese, Devlin Barrett, Meryl Kornfield, Dan Lamothe, Fredrick Kunkle, Julie Zauzmer, Keith L. Alexander, David Willman and Shayna Jacobs.
Editing by Herman Wong . Copy editing by Carey L. Biron. Design and development by Junne Alcantara .
