North Carolina Man Arrested on Charges For Assault on Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

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https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/north-carolina-man-arrested-charges-assault-law-enforcement-during-jan-6-capitol-breach

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
North Carolina Man Arrested on Charges For Assault on Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man was arrested today for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Matthew Jason Beddingfield, 21, of Middlesex, North Carolina, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon or inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and related offenses. He was arrested in Smithfield, North Carolina, and will make his initial appearance tomorrow in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, on Jan. 6, at approximately 12:58 p.m., Beddingfield jumped over a barricade and charged towards a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers who were near the scaffolding that had previously been erected outside the southwest side of the building. A crowd surrounded the officers. At approximately 1:06 p.m., Beddingfield attacked the officers, jabbing at them with a metal flagpole he brought with him. Soon thereafter, he can be seen throwing a metal rod at law enforcement. He remained on the restricted grounds, moving about, before entering the Capitol at approximately 2:38 p.m. through a door on the Capitol’s Upper West Terrace.

Once inside the Capitol, Beddingfield made his way to the Great Rotunda before joining a group of rioters who attempted to storm the Senate Wing. He was towards the front of the rioters and once again, appeared to use his metal flagpole to strike or attempt to strike law enforcement officers. He and the other rioters returned to the Great Rotunda after a chemical irritant was deployed. He continued walking around the Capitol and entered the office of at least one Congressperson before finally leaving the Capitol at approximately 3:07. Beddingfield spent approximately 30 minutes inside the Capitol and about two hours on the restricted grounds.
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