Oct. 3 (UPI) — A pair of brothers from Iowa and Utah have been arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Their actions disrupted a joint session of Congress, which had convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.
Christopher Jordan, 48, of St. George, Utah, and Earl Jordan, 50, of Dickens, Iowa, are charged with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said in a release.
The brothers were also charged with misdemeanor offenses of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, the release added.
The FBI arrested Christoper Jordan in St. George, Utah, where he will make his initial court appearance. Officials arrested Earl Jordan in Spencer, Iowa. He will make his first court appearance in the Northern District of Iowa.
The men, thought to be brothers, were seen on police body cam footage of Jan. 6 near the north scaffolding, an area that became a flashpoint in the riot, and were physically confronting law enforcement in the area.
“As MPD officers made their way through the crowd of amassed rioters on the Lower West Terrace, it is alleged that an officer brushed past Earl Jordan, ” the Justice Department’s release said. “In response, Earl Jordan allegedly threw his elbow at the officer, knocking the officer off balance.”
Despite efforts to calm the situation and form a security line between the Capitol and rioters, the Jordan brothers continued to confront police.
Earl Jordan was seen on video later in the day picking up a piece of sheet metal fencing and hurling it toward the Capitol’s north door and into the fray as police officers tried to calm the situation.
“Despite verbal commands from police to “get back,” the brothers continued their aggressive behavior, federal prosecutors said.
Earl Jordan was allegedly captured in footage swiping at an officer’s face before grabbing the officer by the throat in another encounter. Simultaneously, Christopher Jordan engaged another police officer, pushing and attempting to wrest control of the officer’s baton,” the Justice Department said.
Video showed the brothers on Capitol grounds into the evening.
More than 1,500 people have been charged nationwide for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 560 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony. The investigation remains ongoing, the Justice Department said.