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August 17, 2023 - WASHINGTON — A Louisiana man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, 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.
Ronald Alfred Bryan, 70, of Pollock, Louisiana, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of civil disorder and assault on a federal officer. Bryan is also charged with five misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, theft of government property, and physical violence on Capitol grounds.
Bryan was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Pollock and made his initial appearance in the Western District of Louisiana.
According to court documents, Bryan was identified by law enforcement authorities through open-source video as among the crowd of rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, gathered at the Capitol’s Northwest Steps. In this video, Bryan is seen using a wooden pallet as protection while ascending the Northwest Steps and moving toward a group of United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers defending a landing.
Seconds later, Bryan is seen putting the pallet down near the feet of another rioter and then forcibly taking a USCP officer riot shield. Bryan then charged forward toward the officers, using the shield offensively in an attempt to breach the police line. At the same time, another rioter picked up the wooden pallet and used it to assault the officers.
After an unsuccessful effort to breach the police line on the landing near the Northwest Steps, Bryan climbed through the temporary scaffolding slightly to the south and physically assaulted USCP officers.
Open-source videos recorded later on January 6 revealed Bryan bragging about his theft of the police shield and his assaults on USCP officers. Near the Peace Circle, he explained, “we ganged up, on the left side of the steps where the white tarps were. I started cutting the tarps off” and described how he “stormed up the steps.” Bryan boasted, “I stole a baton. I stole a shield. [I] knocked two of them to the ground, took six of them to get me off of them.” Bryan encouraged other individuals to assault officers as well, exclaiming, “y’all go get you some!”
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 Office for the Western District of Louisiana.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s New Orleans and Washington Field Offices, which identified Bryan as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #418 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 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.
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.
