Vermonter arrested over Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot
A 41-year-old man from Manchester, Vermont was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly using a shield to push and hit officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
MANCHESTER, Vt. (NEWS10) — A 41-year-old man from Manchester, Vermont was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly using a shield to push and hit officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors say his actions and those 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.
William Arthur Nichols, Jr., is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or building; and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building.
Nichols was arrested on Wednesday in Vermont. He made his first court appearance later that day.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Nichols was among a mob illegally massed on the west front of the Capitol grounds. Nichols can be seen on several occasions engaging in violent interactions with police officers, prosecutors claim.
After approaching a line of police officers who were protecting the Capitol building, Nichols allegedly worked his way to the front of the rioters while wielding a large circular shield. According to the criminal complaint, he used the shield to push and hit officers for several hours.
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. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont.
In the two years since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing; anyone with tips can call (800) CALL-FBI.