September 18, 2024 - WASHINGTON – An Oregon man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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.
Andy Steven Oliva-Lopez, 27, of Milwaukie, Oregon, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers before U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan. Judge AliKhan will sentence Oliva-Lopez on Jan. 17, 2025.
According to court documents, Oliva-Lopez drove from his home in Oregon with a friend to attend the Jan. 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally scheduled to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. After attending the rally, Oliva-Lopez walked toward the Capitol and made his way to the West Plaza, which was, by that time overrun with rioters. At that location, United States Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers attempted to maintain lines of defense and were struggling to prevent rioters from advancing further to the building.
At about 2:04 p.m., Oliva-Lopez, wearing a full-face respirator mask, sprayed streams of orange-colored bear spray at the faces and heads of police officers on the West Plaza. Over the course of several minutes, Oliva-Lopez did this on three distinct occasions. Sometime later, the crowd forced their way through, up, and over police barricades and past officers. The crowd then advanced to the exterior façade of the Capitol, where it was not lawfully authorized to remain. At such time, the certification proceedings were still underway, and the exterior doors and windows of the United States Capitol were locked or otherwise secured.
Along with other members of the crowd, Oliva-Lopez climbed up the stone balustrade of a set of stairs adjacent to the temporary scaffolding erected for the Inauguration. This scaffolding was located well inside the restricted perimeter of the Capitol building and its grounds, and it was in an area that was not open to the public.
The FBI arrested Oliva-Lopez on Jan. 23, 2024.
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 District of Oregon.
This case is being investigated by the FBI's Portland and Washington Field Offices, which identified Oliva-Lopez as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #285 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 44 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,504 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 560 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
Related: Clackamas County, Oregon Man Arrested for Assaulting Police by Deployed Chemical Spray at Officers During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
