An Arizona man seen in photos wearing a viking helmet, face paint and wielding a spear inside the U.S. Capitol this week was arrested on Saturday on federal charges, prosecutors announced.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, known as Jake Angeli, was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
He was taken into custody on Saturday, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
Chansley was one of the most prominent figures at the Capitol riots, in which dozens of apparent Trump supporters breached the Capitol building. Five people died during the onslaught, including Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.
Shirtless, covered in tattoos and body paint, Chansley was seen wearing a Viking helmet and carrying a spear through the Capitol building. He posed for photos in a chair inside the Senate chamber which Vice President Mike Pence had occupied hours earlier as part of the process to verify the results of the Electoral College.
Members of the mob had splintered off from a rally at which President Donald Trump had called on his supporters to protest the vote to certify the results of the Electoral College.
Protesters interact with Capitol Police inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“It is alleged that Chansley was identified as the man seen in media coverage who entered the Capitol building dressed in horns, a bearskin headdress, red, white and blue face paint, shirtless, and tan pants. This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade,” reads an affidavit from a special agent with the U.S. Capitol Police.
According to the affidavit, Chansley called into the FBI’s Washington Field Office and admitted he was the person in the photographs.
“CHANSLEY stated that he came as a part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ from Arizona, at the request of the President that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021,” the affidavit says.
Prosecutors on Saturday announced charges against two others involved in the Capitol onslaught. Adam Johnson, who faces three felony charges, was the man seen in photographs carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern.
Prosecutors also charged Derrick Evans, a Republican delegate in West Virginia. Evans filmed his entry into the Capitol and is heard encouraging other members of the mob to break into the facility.
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