A New Mexico provincial official was arrested Sunday after federal authorities said he had entered a restricted section of the U.S. Capitol during Trump’s deadly invasion and led rioters in prayer.
Couy Griffin, a commissioner in Otero County and founder of Cowboys for Trump, has been arrested in Washington. DC, and is facing a single charge of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without legal authority, a federal criminal charge said.
In an affidavit, a Metropolitan police detective said a Cowboys videographer told Trump that after he and Griffin saw the group push past security barriers, they scaled down the wall of the Capitol building. before moving to an outside deck.
There, Griffin used a bullhorn to lead the group into prayer, the document reads.
In a video quoted by the affidavit, Griffin also told the crowd that it was a ‘good day for America’ and that ‘people are showing that they have had enough’.
“People are ready for fair and legitimate elections, or that’s what you’re going to get,” he said in the affidavit.
In a Facebook post on the Cowboys for Trump page, Griffin later said he plans to return to the U.S. Capitol on January 20 for a possible “2nd Amendment Rally” that will include “blood from that building. will walk ‘, reads the statement.
At a Jan. 14 meeting in Otero County, Griffin told other officials that according to the affidavit, he was planning to take a gun and a revolver when he returned to Washington.
Additional information about Griffin’s arrest was not set out in the document, and it was not clear if he was holding a lawyer. A message Trump left to the Cowboys was not immediately returned Sunday.
In an interview with police, Griffin said he “caught” the crowd and that the authorities, according to the affidavit, never asked him to leave.
He told authorities he had left the area peacefully, hoping there could be a change in leadership “without a single shot being fired.” He added that “there is no option for the sake of freedom from the table”, the statement said.
Dozens of people have been arrested and charged with allegedly taking part in the takeover of the Capitol, including a Kentucky man who was arrested Sunday for apparently using a rolled-up Trump flag around a window in the Capitol. to strike lobby of the Speaker leading to the House. according to an affidavit filed in the federal district court in Washington.
Chad Barrett Jones is facing charges of assaulting a federal official, violent trespassing and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and other crimes. It was unclear Sunday whether Jones had a lawyer.
The court documents said Jones was arrested when a family member contacted authorities after seeing him in the news coverage.
Another person arrested Sunday, Bryan Betancur, was captured on video holding a Confederate battle flag in a restricted section on the west side of the Capitol, the FBI said in court documents.
Betancur, who was put on trial for a burglary conviction, was wearing a single bracelet and according to the documents, the GPS data showed that he was in the area for three hours on January 6th.
Betancur is facing charges of participating in illegal activities on limited grounds and other crimes. It was unclear Sunday night whether he has a lawyer.
In court documents unsealed Sunday, a Colorado man described as a 3 percent subsidiary, a far-right military group, is charged with assaulting a federal officer, aiding and abetting federal property and other crimes.
In an affidavit, an FBI agent said the man, Robert Gieswein, was caught on video spraying law enforcement officers with an unknown substance before he and others knocked down a barrier and entered the building.
According to the agent, Gieswein, who was seen wearing glasses and military equipment, apparently ran a private paramilitary training group, the Woodland Wild Dogs. In the court reports, no lawyer was listed for him.
A University of Kentucky student, Gracyn Courtright, is facing charges of theft, knowingly entering a restricted building and other crimes, according to court documents Sunday.
In Indiana, the FBI announced the arrest of Jon Schaffer, a guitarist from the metal band Iced Earth, who allegedly used pepper spray on Capitol police. He faces six charges, including being involved in physical violence in the Capitol, the FBI said.
In a Facebook post, Iced Earth bassist Luke Appleton says other members of the band ‘DO NOT approve’ nor do they support riots or the violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6 at the US Capitol building . We hope everyone involved that day is brought to justice to be investigated and accountable for their actions. ‘
It was unclear Sunday night whether Schaffer had a lawyer.
Authorities have hundreds of other public cases related to the riot in which five people were killed, including Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick. The FBI has released photos of seven men who allegedly assaulted a Washington police officer.