October 3, 2024 - WASHINGTON — A Maine man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to his alleged conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His alleged 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.
Andre Maurice Bonneau, 64, of Lewiston, Maine, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Bonneau is charged with misdemeanor offenses of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Image 7: A comparison of open-source images of Bonneau (left) revealed BONNEAU had the same facial hair and distinctive upper tooth pattern, notably a longer left central incisor, as #BarrierBandit.
The FBI arrested Bonneau today in Maine, and he will make his initial appearance in the District of Maine.
According to court documents, Bonneau was seen in open-source and police body-worn camera footage on Jan. 6, 2021, approaching a bike rack barricade separating officers from rioters on the West Front of Capitol grounds. Officers had previously assembled a police line at this location to prevent rioters from encroaching further on the grounds as the riot developed.
At this location, video footage showed Bonneau allegedly disregarding police orders to "get back." Instead, Bonneau turned his back to officers along the line, grabbed the bike rack, and used his body weight to push the bike rack into officers in an apparent attempt to breach the police line.
For approximately the next 20 seconds, video footage showed Bonneau struggling with officers over the bike rack as he attempted to lift and remove the barricade from the police line. In response to his actions, officers defended themselves by using their riot batons against and deploying a chemical irritant in Bonneau's direction. Court documents say that the officers successfully repelled Bonneau's advance, and he retreated.
Image, excerpted from BWC footage, of the subject attempting to disconnect the police barricade as he struggled with officers over the barricade on the West Front.
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 Maine.
This case is being investigated by the FBI's Boston and Washington Field Offices. Bonneau was identified as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #529 on the FBI’s seeking information photographs. 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.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
bonneau_sof.pdf
Source: DOJ Release
