11 Ky. residents arrested over Capitol riot still await outcomes in federal court
Seventeen Kentucky residents have been arrested as a result of the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Of those 17, 11 are still facing prosecution for active federal court cases. Six have pleaded guilty and five of them have received their sentence. A former University of Kentucky student who wasn’t a permanent Kentucky resident also pleaded guilty.
About 165 of all the defendants arrested in the Capitol riot have pleaded guilty, according to the Department of Justice. About 70 of them have been sentenced.
Prosecutors and investigators are still working to identify more people involved in the riot.
Those Kentuckians still facing charges in the riot were identified in social media videos, surveillance footage, Snapchats and more. Anonymous tips to the FBI often led to the arrests.
One accused rioter said he was fighting ‘tyrannical rule’
Damon Michael Beckley was allegedly filmed at the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying, “we aren’t putting up with this tyrannical rule. If we’ve got to come back here and start a revolution and take all of these traitors down, which is what should be done, then we will.”
The video was used to help the FBI identify and charge Beckley, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Beckley’s case hasn’t yet been resolved – he was indicted on five charges in April. Beckley was scheduled for his next court appearance on Feb. 14.
Accused of using flag pole to break glass
Chad Barrett Jones’ case is still active and a superseding indictment was handed down in his case in November, charging him with nine federal crimes. Jones was allegedly identified by investigators as the man who broke the window on a door to the Speaker’s Lobby moments before Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer.
Jones used a flag pole to break the glass, according to court records.
Jones was charged with several federal offenses, which included accusations of violent acts and using a dangerous or deadly weapon.
Jones was released from federal custody on his own recognizance and is scheduled for his next court date on March 10, according to court records.
Kentucky man wound up in viral video featuring Capitol cop
Michael Sparks’ case is still open and he was charged with nine federal crimes in a superseding indictment in November. Sparks is accused of being one of the first to enter the Capitol after he climbed through a window which someone else broke, according to court records.
Sparks is also accused of chasing Capitol officer Eugene Goodman through building hallways and up the stairs, based off videos posted to social media which went viral. Goodman had diverted the crowd from a door to the Senate chambers and the vice president’s temporary location in an office, according to multiple reports.
Sparks allegedly confronted Goodman, shouting “this is our America!” Sparks was turned into the FBI by tipsters, according to court records.
Sparks’ most recent court date was in November, when he pleaded not guilty to the charges in the new indictment.
Another accused rioter shared his Capitol visit on Snapchat
Jordan T. Revlett was arrested in Owensboro in January after the FBI received an online tip which featured Snapchat photos and videos of Revlett at the riot, according to court records.
The tip showed video posted by a Snapchat user in which the person recording walked up the steps and into the U.S. Capitol, as well as a selfie with the caption “Just so you guys know a capitol police officer opened the door from the inside to let us in.”
Revlett told investigators he attended Trump’s rally with his parents and he never saw any signs which indicated he wasn’t allowed to enter the Capitol, according to court records. He also said police never tried to prevent him from entering.
Revlett faces a handful of charges related to him allegedly entering the Capitol, according to court records.
Revlett’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 14, according to court records.
One accused Kentucky rioter was found in Pennsylvania
Peter Schwartz was arrested after the FBI received a tip from a friend of Schwartz less than a week after the riot, according to court records. Schwartz was accused of spraying mace at police officers and called the Capitol riot the start of a “war” in a Facebook post, according to court records.
A superseding indictment was handed down in Schwartz’s case in October. He’s facing 11 charges. Those charges include using a dangerous weapon against officers and committing physical violence, according to court records.
Schwartz was still in custody, according to court records. He was allegedly supposed to be in Owensboro for rehab at the time of the Capitol riot, according to court records. He was arrested in Pennsylvania after investigators identified him. Schwartz is scheduled for his next court appearance on Jan. 18.
Kentucky man pulled officer down a set of stairs, FBI says
Clayton Ray Mullins is still facing several charges after multiple superseding indictments have been handed down against him and others who allegedly participated in the riot.
Mullins’ charges include committing violent acts and civil disorder, among other things.
Mullins allegedly helped to drag an officer down a set of stairs outside the Capitol, according to court records. After Mullins helped to pull the officer down the stairs, the officer was then assaulted by multiple people who kicked him, struck him with poles and maced him, according to court records. The officer was injured.
Mullins was charged over the assault of two officers, according to court records.
Mullins’ next court date is scheduled for Feb. 7, according to court records. Mullins was released from federal custody on his own recognizance and remains out of jail, according to court records.
Former sheriff’s deputy was seen on Capitol surveillance
Joseph Irwin was identified in a photo by a tipster who submitted information to the FBI, according to federal court records.
When following up on the tip, investigators learned that Irwin used to work as a deputy at the Hardin County sheriff’s office, according to court records. Officials from the sheriff’s office provided investigators with photos of Irwin, which matched photos that investigators had found online and via Capitol surveillance cameras of an individual involved in the riot.
One photo, which allegedly shows Irwin inside the Capitol, features him among a group of others yelling as they move through a Capitol hallway. He allegedly entered the building just before 2:45 p.m., according to court records.
Irwin is facing a handful of charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct at the Capitol. He has pleaded not guilty. His next court date is scheduled for Tuesday. He’s been released on his own recognizance, according to court records.
It was ‘ridiculously easy to get in,’ one Kentuckian says
Eric Douglas Clark was arrested after the FBI found out he traveled from Louisville to Washington, D.C., to participate in a rally and protest on Jan. 6, 2021, before gaining entry to the Capitol, according to court records.
The FBI received an anonymous tip more than a month after the riot which featured screenshots of Clark’s Facebook page, where Clark had shared several pictures of himself at the Capitol during the riot, according to court records. Clark was also allegedly captured on Capitol surveillance video, according to court records.
The tipster also shared text messages from Clark in which Clark said it was “ridiculously easy to get in” to the Capitol, according to court records.
When the FBI interviewed Clark’s former employer to get more information about him, they found out his last day at his job was Jan. 5, 2021. He never showed back up to work after that, according to court records. He was “very vocal” about the fact he was going to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, according to court records.
Clark is facing several charges, including charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He’s been released from federal custody on his own recognizance, according to court records.
Kentucky man was nearby when woman was shot, killed
Kurt Peterson was arrested in June and has since been indicted on eight charges related to the Capitol riot, according to court records. Peterson was arrested after the FBI received a tip that he was telling others he was in the Capitol and near Ashli Babbitt when she was shot and killed inside the building, according to court records.
Peterson posted on Facebook that he was at the Capitol but wanted to be peaceful while he was there, according to court records. He said he tried to stop others who stormed into the building from breaking things. Peterson alleged in his post that he wanted to render first aid to Babbitt after she was shot but no one would let him.
He said in the Facebook post that he didn’t trust the FBI and was trying to avoid being tracked, according to court records.
Despite Peterson’s claims that he was trying to remain peaceful, the FBI alleged in court records that they identified Peterson in a video using wooden sticks and his fist to smash in a window at the Capitol while shouting “this is our house. Let us in. Our house.” The window would allegedly cost more than $2,700 to replace. Peterson appeared to be present in other videos from the Capitol too.
Peterson was released on personal recognizance after his arrest.
Northern KY man allegedly sprayed cops with fire extinguisher
Nicholas James Brockhoff, a Covington resident, was arrested after FBI agents identified him as an individual who allegedly sprayed police officers with a fire extinguisher during the riot, according to court records.
Brockhoff also allegedly entered the Capitol through a broken window during the riot and wore a stolen police helmet during, according to court records.
The FBI reviewed records of vehicles driven by Brockhoff and members of his immediate family to confirm that he went to the Washington, D.C., area on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit. The FBI also confirmed Brockhoff’s identity by providing photos of him at the riot to someone who knew Brockhoff personally for five years.
Since being arrested in May, Brockhoff has been indicted on eight charges related to the riot, according to court records. He’s still in federal custody. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 25.
One Kentuckian called riot ‘f*****g fun,’ FBI says
Stephen Chase Randolph was among those who knocked a female Capitol police officer unconscious as the rioters moved toward the Capitol building, according to federal court records.
He and others were accused of pushing the officer to the ground. She hit her head and was knocked out, according to court records. Randolph allegedly assaulted other officers by pushing, grabbing and shoving them, according to court records. He was also part of a group that stormed the barricades outside the Capitol and pushed them onto officers.
Undercover FBI agents spoke with Randolph at his workplace and got him to admit he was involved in the riot, according to court records.
Randolph said “‘I was in it,’ and ‘It was f*****g fun’ referring to being in the crowd at the U.S. Capitol,” a special agent wrote in an affidavit.
Randolph faces nine charges in connection to the riot after a superseding indictment was handed down last month, according to court records. Randolph has been released on a personal recognizance bond.