FBI agents arrest two men in Lexington in connection with U.S. Capitol riots
Two men have been arrested in Lexington by the FBI and charged with being involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court records.
Dalton Ray Crase and Troy Dylan Williams face charges of aiding and abetting, entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to court records.
FBI agents learned about Crase and Williams while interviewing another man, identified only as “W1”, who had been flagged by investigators after he “misrepresented” his presence inside the Capitol on social media affidavit in support of the case.
The FBI had received information that W1 was in the Capitol based on his social media posts, but he later told them he’d gotten ill after traveling to D.C. with Crase and Williams and had not gone to any of the Jan. 6 events. Hospital records corroborated his claim.
While W1 did not go to the Capitol, he told the FBI that he believed Crase and Williams went to the rally, marched to the Capitol, but did not go inside, according to the affidavit.
When FBI agents in Lexington interviewed Crase and Williams, both admitted to going inside the Capitol, according to the complaint. Both told investigators that they went into the building with others after the doors were breached, but neither admitted to participating in any violence or vandalism, according to court records.
Williams told investigators that while inside the Capitol, he told Crase that, “If these people start fighting the cops and getting crazy, we’re leaving,” according to the affidavit.
Crase acknowledged that he’d been trespassing, according to the affidavit.
“Even though we didn’t participate in violence, I think it was dumb that we went in,” Crase said while being interviewed by the FBI. He also told the agents, “I was breaking the law by being in the Capitol building, but it didn’t register with me.”
“I didn’t do anything violent, but I went into the building, so I did trespass,” Crase said, according to the court records.
Williams told investigators that he didn’t intend to go inside the building but did so after others started going in, at which point it became “herd mentality,” according to court records.
Williams and Crase entered the building around 2:39 p.m., then they left before going back in at about 3:08 p.m., according to court records.
When investigators asked Williams if he felt they were doing anything wrong by being inside, he said, “to a degree.” But he said they weren’t doing anything “wrong or inciteful” while inside, according to court records.
“We were a part of something,” Williams told investigators. “There’s cops here, they tried to stop us, they are not letting us in, but not fighting us.”
Williams also told the FBI that he heard two older men outside the Capitol saying that they would not go inside because it’d be a felony, according to court records.
“When Williams heard this, he thought to himself that they were probably right,” wrote an FBI Special Agent in the federal affidavit. “Williams also told the FBI that he rationalized with himself at one point asking himself what the legal way would be to get into the Capitol building. Crase also said that if he was ever allowed back, he would get a “pass” the next time.”
Both men were released from custody after appearing in federal court in Lexington Monday afternoon.
Crase is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court in Washington, D.C. by video on Friday, said his Lexington attorney, Jarrod J. Beck, who declined further comment on the case.
Williams also is scheduled for a video initial appearance in Washington on Friday.
The FBI’s Louisville office has arrested seven Kentuckians in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol and continues to try to identify people who were inside the building. They ask that people with information send tips to tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Herald-Leader reporter Bill Estep contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 1:37 PM.
