Two Missouri men were arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which included assault on law enforcement.
Jared Luther Owens, 41, of Farmington, and Jason William Wallis, 49, of St. Clair, were charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assault on law enforcement with a deadly or dangerous weapon, according to a press release.
Owens and Wallis were also charged with misdemeanor offenses including:
- Entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority;
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds;
- Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds;
- Disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or in any of the Capitol buildings;
- Engaging in physical violence in the Capitol grounds or any of the Capitol buildings;
- Parade, demonstrate or picket in any of the Capitol buildings.
The FBI received a tip in April 2021 after a tipster submitted a screenshot of a test thread between Wallis and his girlfriend. The screenshot revealed a photo of Wallis outside of the Capitol. He was also identified by the tipster as Wallis.
Wallis also allegedly rented a campground from Jan. 5, 2021, through Jan. 8, 2021, in College Park, Maryland. He reserved the spot for his vehicle, a travel trailer and three adults, documents said.
Owens was seen on surveillance video from the Capitol near Wallis and was identified by a Missouri state parole officer through photos from a Youtube video.
According to charging documents, the men attended the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Owens and Wallis were captured in an open-source video pursuing and screaming at U.S. Capitol police officers in riot gear on the northwest side of the building.
Owens and Wallis were captured on video walking among the officers near the northeast corner, yelling and making statements including "coming up the stairs with you there or not," the release said.
Later, officers moved numerous bike racks to form a barricade at the top of the northeast corner stairs at the Capitol. Wallis grabbed onto the barricade and with the help of Ownes, shoved the barricade into the line of officers and was captured on video, charging documents said.
The officer sustained a fracture to her right hand and wrist.
Wallis and Owens continued towards the east front of the Capitol, and Owens led the crowd of rioters and chanted "Whose House? Our House," charging documents said. The men unsuccessfully tried to breach the Capitol and advanced towards the West side.
The men entered the Capitol shortly after 2:45 p.m. through the Upper West Terrace.
Shortly after 3 p.m., Wallis breached a line of officers near the Brumidi Corridor and walked further into the Capitol, documents said. Numerous rioters followed Wallis down the hallway. Wallis exited the Capitol through a door on the north side, he was inside the building for around 21 minutes, the release said.
Documents said Owens encountered a police line inside the Capitol and assaulted a second officer. He broke through the line and pushed an officer against the wall and was detained by another officer.
During a search, the officer found a folding knife in Owens' right front pocket, the release said. He was released from handcuffs and was seen exiting the Capitol. Owens was inside for around 16 minutes, documents said.
Text messages from Wallis on Jan. 7, 2021, read: "[w]e bought old riot police got f— beat with batons teargas maced and literally fought them so they didn't let us into shit"; and "I was on the front lines," documents said.
Owens was arrested on Oct. 27, and Wallis on Oct. 29. Both men made their initial appearance in court on Monday.
Several other St. Louis-area people have been charged and convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot. Over 1,100 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states. The investigation remains ongoing.