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July 28, 2023 - WASHINGTON — An Ohio man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Adrian Schmidt, 25, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. In addition to the felony, Schmidt is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or ground; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Schmidt was arrested today in Cincinnati and made his initial appearance in the Southern District of Ohio.
According to court documents, Schmidt was present among the crowd of rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Video footage reviewed by federal authorities shows Schmidt among a crowd of people on the Capitol grounds who had already trespassed into a restricted area. Schmidt, at the front of the crowd, and others then push past police officers and the outer fencing of the Capitol as it is knocked down. While on Capitol grounds, Schmidt and members of the mob pushed against police officers’ riot shields on the Lower West Terrace.
Court documents say that Schmidt is then observed in video footage pushing up against police officers. Schmidt entered the Capitol at approximately 2:15 p.m. and was escorted out of the building at approximately 2:33 p.m. only to return and re-enter the building through the Upper West Terrace doors at approximately 2:45 p.m.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Cincinnati and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 30 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,069 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
