Joseph Randall Biggs, a leading member of the group called the Proud Boys, was arrested Wednesday and charged in connection with storming the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice said.
Mr. Biggs, 37, was taken into custody in Florida on charges including corruptly obstructing, influencing or impeding a congressional proceeding, the Justice Department announced on its website.
The Justice Department said that Mr. Biggs also faces federal criminal charges related to trespassing on Capitol grounds to disrupt government business and engaging in disorderly conduct therein.
Mr. Biggs appeared in court later Wednesday and was ordered to be released from custody on a $25,000 unsecured bond, the Justice Department said. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Scores of people have been charged so far in connection with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 when Congress held a joint session to formalize the results of the recent presidential election.
Mr. Biggs was caught on camera in and around the U.S. Capitol during the deadly insurrection, an FBI special agent wrote in an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday.
In one video filmed from inside the U.S. Capitol, the FBI agent notes, a voice off-camera is heard saying: “Hey Biggs, what do you gotta say?”
“This is awesome!” Mr. Biggs is seen responding in the video.
Mr. Biggs spoke with FBI agents on Monday and acknowledged being inside the Capitol but denied having any knowledge of any pre-planning of storming the building, according to the affidavit.
The Proud Boys, a mens-only group of self-described “western chauvinists,” have participated in several protests held in response to former President Trump losing his race for re-election last year.
Several of those rallies have turned violent, including a protest last month in which several uniformed Proud Boys set fire to a “Black Lives Matter” banner stolen from a church in Washington, D.C.
More recently, a number of known Proud Boys members were seen among the mobs of supporters of Mr. Trump who stormed the Capitol on the day Congress was scheduled to formalize his recent defeat.
Among the multitude of people charged so far over the insurrection include known Proud Boys including Mr. Biggs, Nicholas R. Ochs of Hawaii and Dominic “Spazzo” Pezzola of New York.
Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the group’s current leader, was not seen during the storming: He was arrested in Washington two days earlier and promptly ordered to leave town.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.