Kentucky man accused of dragging D.C. cop down steps during Capitol riot, FBI says
A Kentucky man is accused of grabbing a police officer and dragging him down steps outside the U.S. Capitol building during the riot on Jan. 6, according to newly unsealed federal court records.
Clayton Ray Mullins, a Benton man who was detained by federal agents Tuesday, allegedly was seen in YouTube videos assaulting a D.C. metropolitan police officer during the riot, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court. The officer was hospitalized.
Video showed Mullins grabbing at the officer while on the Capitol building steps, eventually managing to get hold of his leg and “violently pulling on it,” according to the affidavit. The officer was dragged down the steps.
The video below shows a man who the FBI identified as Mullins pulling on the officer’s leg. He eventually pulls the officer down the steps. Others in the crowd can be seen continuing to drag him down. One person in the crowd can be heard yelling “he’s a police officer, don’t hurt him!”
Another officer at the scene was shown on body camera video trying to pull the officer away from Mullins, which led to a “battle of tug of war” over the officer, according to the affidavit.
The officer who Mullins allegedly pulled to the ground was eventually kicked, struck with poles, and stomped on by several people, according to the affidavit. The officer also recalled having his helmet ripped off his head and being stripped of his baton, gas mask and a cell phone. The officer was also maced once his mask was ripped off.
The officer had to have staples put in his head because of a laceration, according to an affidavit. He was interviewed by agents on Jan. 12 as part of the investigation.
That officer responded to the Capitol due to the violence breaking out and was positioned in an archway that provided access to a lower terrace of the Capitol when Mullins began pulling on him, according to the affidavit.
Agents were actually investigating the assault of another officer when they found photos and video footage posted on social media of Mullins assaulting the officer only identified as “A.W.,” the FBI said.
“Numerous videos and photographs of Mullins assaulting A.W. were posted on Twitter, primarily under the hashtag #seditionhunters,” Special Agent Valyncia Joachim wrote in the affidavit, which was filed into federal court in D.C. “In addition, the hashtag #slickback began trending in relation (to) Mullins and the slicked-back style in which he wore his hair.”
An FBI agent managed to obtain information on Mullins’ driver’s license and subsequently identified a bank that Mullins had used, according to the affidavit. Investigators interviewed on Feb. 5 a bank employee who had a “30-year banking relationship” with Mullins and showed them a photo of the suspect captured on video. The employee confirmed it was Mullins.
Authorities learned Mullins had been in the bank on Feb. 4 and reviewed surveillance footage, which further confirmed his identity, according to the affidavit.
Mullins was charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds.
Mullins was held in federal custody Tuesday and was expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday. But FBI officials told the Herald-Leader the hearing may be pushed back to Thursday.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 1:22 PM.