An Alabama man accused of hitting a Capitol police officer with a flagpole on Jan. 6 was arrested Wednesday after another riot suspect identified him, according to the Justice Department.
Gregory Lamar Nix, 52, is charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon, and other charges.
He was arrested in Cleveland, Alabama, where he lives, and made his first court appearance Wednesday in the Northern District of Alabama, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia. It is unclear if Nix has a lawyer.
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A criminal complaint said “the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation” who “minimized his/her own role in the events of January 6” did identify Nix as a person who had entered the Capitol unlawfully.
The suspect, who was not identified, said they knew Nix before Jan. 6.
That person’s identification of Nix lined up with other evidence, including cellphone data that indicated Nix was in the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The criminal complaint includes several photos that appear to show Nix inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6. One photo, a screenshot taken from surveillance footage, shows Nix flashing his middle finger to the camera, according to the complaint.
Not long after, Nix can be seen on video approaching U.S. Capitol Police Officers who were standing guard in front of the East House doors before attacking one with a flagpole, officials said.
The criminal complaint said he tried to assault the officer with the flagpole seven times.
Nix hit the officer twice, including once on the head, and threw the flagpole at him, the government said. The officer told investigators that he woke up with a knot on his head the next day.
After the assault, Nix tried to break the East House doors’ glass panes using a black baton, according to allegations in the complaint.
It’s not clear if the baton came from officers who had “been overrun in that location” or if it was Nix’s “personal baton,” the complaint said.
The doors were eventually opened, and Nix entered with the black baton, according to officials.
More than 675 people have been arrested in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach, the Justice Department said. More than a third of those arrested have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
