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Published on January 07, 2025
Father and Son from Ohio and Colorado Arrested for Alleged Assault on Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol RiotSource: Google Street View

Two Ohio and Colorado men were arrested on charges connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, with accusations of assaulting law enforcement among other offenses. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which was obtained by SFist, Joseph Charles Valentour of Centerville, Ohio, and his son, Jonathan Wayne "Duke" Valentour of Boulder, Colorado, allegedly partook in acts that thwarted a Congressional session tasked with confirming the 2020 presidential election results.

The Valentours face several charges, including felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction during a civil disorder. After the FBI's arrest of Joseph Valentour in Ohio, wearing a body-worn camera that captured his initial court appearance, and later the apprehension of his son Duke in Colorado, both men made initial appearances in their respective districts. The elder Valenteour is alleged by the court documents to have purposefully backed into and pushed against a police line, which resulted in an officer being dragged into the crowd and another being shoved down some stairs, as detailed by the same press release.

Meanwhile, police body-worn camera footage from the Capitol breach spots Duke Valentour allegedly storming the police line and using his body to force other rioters into it. An act witnessed by an officer, who upon attempting to foil Duke's advances, was met with opposition from the younger Valentour that included forcibly pushing and trying to disarm the law enforcement officials. The two men are charged additionally with five misdemeanors involving conduct in and around the Capitol buildings.

In the four years following the breach, the incident has seen over 1,583 individuals charged in connection to the events of that day, details the Department of Justice. This includes more than 600 facing felony charges for assaulting or impeding police. Contributing to the arrests were the collaborative efforts between the FBI's Cincinnati, Denver, and Washington Field Offices who identified Joseph Valentour as BOLO AFO #494 in their ongoing investigation. Amidst the ongoing probe, the public has been encouraged to report any tips to the FBI.

The DOJ notes that these are allegations, and the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. The Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section is currently prosecuting the case with help from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Colorado.