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Defendants Participated in Pushes Against Police in Lower West Terrace Tunnel
February 1, 2024 - WASHINGTON – Three men pleaded guilty yesterday to felony charges related to their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their 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.
Kyle Kumer, 43, of Kansas City, Missouri and William “Jessie” Stover, 46, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of civil disorder, a felony. Alan Michael St. Onge, 36, of Brevard, North Carolina pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to two counts of civil disorder, a felony. U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols will sentence Stover on May 3, 2024, and St. Onge and Kumer on May 17, 2024.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, beginning at 2:42 p.m., numerous members of the mob illegally assembled on the Capitol grounds and attacked members of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who were lawfully engaged in the performance of their official duties defending an entrance to the U.S. Capitol on the Lower West Terrace known as the “Tunnel.”
The Tunnel was the site of some of the most violent attacks against police on January 6th. Over the course of more than two hours, the mob struck police with thrown items, sprayed police with chemical irritants, pushed against the police, and stole items from the police defending the Tunnel. St. Onge, Kumer, and Stover were members of the mob that relentlessly pushed against police officers in the Lower West Terrace tunnel to breach the line of law enforcement defending Congress. St. Onge also pushed against the line of police officers in the West Plaza prior to the police line falling in that location.
St. Onge initially approached the Capitol from the east before moving to the West Front of the Capitol. At approximately 2:12 p.m., as officers in the West Plaza were resisting the efforts of the mob to overcome the police line there, St. Onge pushed against the police barricade and the police who were trying to resist the rioters’ efforts. After the police line fell on the West Front, St. Onge made his way up the Inaugural Stage before arriving at the Lower West Terrace tunnel. St. Onge was initially outside the entrance to the tunnel beginning at 2:55 p.m. At 3:09 p.m., St. Onge made his way further into the tunnel and joined in with the crowd’s concerted push against the police line. Specifically, surveillance video footage captured images of St. Onge pushing, with great effort, against other rioters in an attempt to collectively breach the police line. At approximately 3:18 p.m., the police inside the tunnel gained momentum and successfully pushed the rioters, including St. Onge, out of the tunnel. St. Onge was arrested June 16, 2023, in Brevard, N.C.
Kumer, accompanied by his mother, made this way up to the Lower West Terrace and onto the Inaugural Stage at about the same time. As the crowd began to push in unison against the police line at 3:08 p.m., Kumer turned his body so that his back was pushing up against the rioters between him and the police and began to push against them. As he pushed, Kumer called out, “Let’s go! C’mon! Let’s go!” to the rioters around them to encourage them to join the push against the police. At 3:11 p.m., another group push began in the tunnel against the police. Kumer joined in again. This group push effort caused a MPD officer to be crushed between the crowd and the door. At 3:15 p.m., numerous rioters left the tunnel leaving ample open space for Kumer and his mother to also leave, but they remained in the tunnel. At 3:16 p.m., another group push effort was made against the police line by the rioters inside the tunnel. Kumer joined again. By 3:18 p.m., the police inside the tunnel succeeded in pushing all of the rioters back to the entrance of the tunnel. Kumer and his mother were two of the last rioters to be cleared from inside the tunnel. Kumer was arrested June 21, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
Stover arrived at the tunnel entrance at 3:16 p.m. and joined with others in the fracas to push again the police line. Stover, along with the other rioters, was eventually expelled from the tunnel entrance by police. But Stover returned with others to push against police, this time grabbing onto the side of the tunnel entrance to leverage his weight and increase his force. Stover then reached over the heads of the other rioters to grab the helmet of a police officer. Moments later, Stover received a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield which he then handed to another rioter who climbed up behind him. That rioter took the shield from Stover and used it to attack police. Stover remained at the entrance to the tunnel as the rioters fought police for 20 more minutes. At about 4:10 p.m., he was pushed away from the mouth of the tunnel by the crowd. Stover was arrested July 10, 2023, in Elizabethtown, Ky.
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 Western District of North Carolina, the Western District of Missouri, and the Western District of Kentucky.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte, Louisville, Kansas City, and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 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.
Source: DOJ Release
