Winnemucca man arrested on charges arising from US Capitol attack
The FBI has arrested a Northern Nevada man they allege used a table leg with a “protruding nail” to attack police officers after entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as lawmakers worked to certify the presidential election, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
Winnemucca resident Josiah Kenyon was taken into custody Wednesday in Reno, officials wrote in a news release, noting that he remained jailed following a court appearance Friday.
The 34-year-old was awaiting transport to Washington, D.C., where he will be prosecuted, court records show. He requested a public defender and declined to speak to investigators after his arrest.
A court docket did not show an attorney on record.
Kenyon is facing counts of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, during the insurrection that followed a rally by former President Donald Trump.
He was the third suspect with Nevada ties to be arrested for alleged involvement in the riot.
Dressed as ‘Jack Skellington’
Kenyon, who wore a red “Make America Great Again” cap and was dressed as “Jack Skellington” from the “Nightmare Before Christmas” movie, entered the federal building shortly before 3 p.m. and exited 25 minutes later, staying past 5 p.m., the FBI said.
Once outside, he allegedly tried to break a window by pounding on it with a closed fist and a flag pole, according to surveillance video cited by the FBI.
The FBI alleges that Kenyon then began attacking officers with the table leg.
A video showed Kenyon striking a riot-gear-clad officer on the head, the FBI said.
“I observed that the protruding nail appears to become momentarily stuck in the opening between the top of the officer’s face shield and the helmet, which then lifted the face shield,” the FBI wrote in the criminal complaint.
Kenyon was in the D.C. area between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, the FBI said. A tipster came forward on Jan. 12 to tell authorities that Kenyon had stayed in a Virginia motel, information that the FBI used to get a name.
Using Kenyon’s name, the FBI obtained D.C. public transit records that placed him near the Capitol at the time of the riot, the complaint said.
A warrant for Kenyon’s arrest was issued on Nov. 23, court records show.
The FBI has published photos of people captured at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The federal agency said Kenyon was the man in photo No. 94.
Nationwide, more than 675 people have been arrested for their alleged participation in the riot, including more than 210 who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers.
Two others arrested in Las Vegas
In January, two of those suspects were arrested in Southern Nevada.
Ronald Sandlin of Memphis and Nathaniel DeGrave were arrested outside Degrave’s Las Vegas apartment. The FBI also used footage to identify them.
The men, who have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial, remained jailed in D.C. on federal charges that include assault and disrupting official proceedings.
DeGrave also appeared in photos taken inside the Capitol.
The pair had used a GoFundMe account to pay for their trip. Sandlin brought equipment to record the event and echoed Trump’s words that “freedom is paid for in blood.”
Trump has continued to claim, falsely, that the presidential election was stolen from him. It was that charge that he used to incite supporters at the rally to besiege the Capitol.
The House impeached Trump for inciting the riot, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
The riots left five dead and many injured when mobs overran police barricades and broke through windows to enter the Capitol.
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical irritant and collapsed during his battle to keep the rioters out. He died the next day.
The D.C. The Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed four other deaths were connected to the siege, including Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran who stormed the Capitol and was shot by police. Two others died of natural causes and one from accidental amphetamine intoxication.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites. Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.