A Florida man, Michael Jerrett Amos from Naples, has been recently taken into custody, facing serious charges for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Amos is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers and participating in civil disorder among other misdemeanors, in events that disrupted the Congressional joint session held to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
The FBI apprehended Amos last Friday, and his initial court appearance was in the Middle District of Florida. From court documents, it was gleaned that Amos was at the West Plaza of the Capitol when the rioters attempted to forcefully bypass police barricades. He is allegedly seen in the footage, wielding a flagpole and later, purportedly to have a canister of pepper spray in hand—tools used to actively engage against law enforcement.
At approximately 2:12 p.m. on the day of the riot, officials allege that "Amos pulled the canister out of his pocket and sprayed it at the officers." Further, eyewitnesses account for him urging the crowd, captured saying, "Forward...forward!" on body-worn camera footage as rioters continued their assault on the police line. This series of altercations eventually led to rioters overtaking the West Plaza by about 2:30 p.m., as detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This case is in the hands of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, with assistance from Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. The investigation is a collective effort by the FBI's Tampa and Washington Field Offices, in collaboration with the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. Over the past 41 months since the breach, "more than 1,450 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol," as was officially reported, with over 500 charged with felonies connected to the physical confrontation of law enforcement, as per the U.S. Department of Justice.
