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November 21, 2023 - WASHINGTON — An Ohio man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct 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 2020 presidential election.
Matthew Honigford, 31, of Delphos, Ohio, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with multiple felony offenses, including two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and one count of civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Honigford 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 grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds.
Honigford was arrested today in Ohio and will make his initial appearance in the Northern District of Ohio.
According to court documents, body-worn camera footage taken from Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers depicts an individual, later identified as Honigford, assaulting law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Court documents state that at about 2:30 p.m. on January 6th, a crowd of rioters was assembled on the U.S. Capitol's Southwest Plaza exit wing. Here, law enforcement officers from the United States Capitol Police (USCP) and the MPD had formed a line as a barrier against the crowd. Rioters soon moved toward the police line, and law enforcement officers retreated and moved up the exit wing stairs. Rioters pursued the officers with Honigford at the front of the crowd.
MPD body-worn camera footage shows Honigford holding a flagpole horizontally in front of his body with both hands. He then pushed the flagpole into an MPD officer’s chest area, and a struggle ensued. Honigford then advanced with the crowd of rioters to the Upper West Terrace, where a group had assembled on the steps in front of a barricaded police line. Honigford was again at the front of the crowd of rioters and encouraged others to move toward the police line by yelling, “Up!” and moving his hands in a gesture to bring people toward where he was standing.
Later, at approximately 2:46 p.m., rioters began to push against the metal police barriers, moving them. Honigford is then seen squatting, grabbing a barrier, and using it and his body weight to push against the police line. An officer then attempted to remove Honigford from his position, and Honigford kicked the barricade toward the officer. Simultaneously, other rioters began to break through the police line. After kicking the barrier, Honigford then attempted to follow the crowd through the breach in the police line. He then instructed other rioters to “pull it down” and carried one of the barriers into the crowd away from law enforcement.
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 Northern District of Ohio.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Cleveland and Washington Field Offices, which identified Honigford as AFO (Assault on Federal Officer) #506 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 34 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,200 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. 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.
Source: DOJ Release
