A suspected Capitol rioter named Paul Russell Johnson stands accused of causing a police officer to fall and hit their head, making them lose consciousness.
Video allegedly captured the 35-year-old suspect pushing and pulling on a metal barricade outside of the Capitol building. The action allegedly caused a police officer to fall and hit their head on a stairway, causing the officer to lose consciousness.
Hours afterward, the officer reportedly lost consciousness when arresting another rioter. The officer was transported to the emergency room. Doctors determined that they had experienced a concussion during the initial fall.
Johnson allegedly detailed his break-in to the Capitol on a YouTube video. In the video, he allegedly admitted to “throwing shit… fighting cops and shit… [and] slinging one around.”
Joseph Prezioso / AFP/Getty
Johnson now faces five charges including inflicting bodily injury on certain officers, obstruction of an official proceeding, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, according to The Hill.
Johnson is just the latest person among roughly 140 individuals to face charges for their alleged role in the January 6 insurrection. He stands out among the others as one of group specifically charged with assaulting an officer.
Another arrestee, Jon Ryan Schaffer, allegedly sprayed Capitol Police officers with bear spray. The spray can cause temporary loss of sight and difficulty breathing.
Fellow arrestee, William Robert Norwood III, claimed to have disguised himself as Antifa, an abbreviation for an anti-fascist protester, during the riots. Norwood said he assaulted an officer and stole their protective equipment. He later told authorities that he had made up his claims just to “sound tough.”
Robert Gieswein allegedly wrestled with Capitol Police officers while attempting to remove a metal barricade outside the building, The Washington Post reported. Authorities arrested Peter Francis Stager after video allegedly captured him assaulting a police officer during the riot outside of the federal building.
Several arrestees have said that they were acting under the orders of former President Donald Trump to overturn a supposedly rigged election. There is still no evidence that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Five people died in the insurrection and roughly 140 police officers were injured, including one with a broken spine, a lost eye, lost fingers and some with brain damage.
Insurrectionists also shattered windows while trying to access congressional chambers, smeared feces in the hallway and stole computer equipment, potentially constituting a national security breach.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
