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November 30, 2023 - WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for assaulting law enforcement 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.
David Paul Daniel, 36, of Mint Hill, North Carolina, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder.
In addition to the felonies, Daniel is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; willfully and knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence in the grounds or any of the Capitol buildings; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Daniel was arrested today by the FBI in Mint Hill, North Carolina, and will make his initial appearance in the Western District of North Carolina.
According to court documents, Daniel was present among a mob of rioters that breached the Senate Wing Door near the Northwest Courtyard of the Capitol building for a second time on Jan. 6, 2021. At approximately 2:46 p.m., Daniel joined another rioter in leading a violent push against the barricaded Senate Wing Door and the police officers attempting to hold them closed.
After this violent push, Daniel and the other rioters eventually managed to force open the door. Daniel was then sprayed with a chemical irritant. At about 2:49 p.m., Daniel climbed over a pile of broken furniture and out of a broken Senate Wing Door to the outside of the building. Daniel spent several minutes outside of the building before reentering at approximately 2:59 p.m. Once inside, Daniel made his way to the Crypt and then back to the area near the Senate Wing Door. Daniel left the Capitol at about 3:04 p.m. via the same broken window.
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 North Carolina.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte and Washington Field Offices. 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
