WASHINGTON — A host for the far-right conspiracy website InfoWars was charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot this week – with federal prosecutors alleging he broke the terms of a deal to avoid charges from a January 2020 arrest.
Owen Shroyer, an Austin, Texas, resident and host of “The War Room With Owen Shroyer,” was charged with four misdemeanor counts, including entering a restricted grounds and disorderly conduct, according to court documents published Thursday.
In screenshots included in charging documents, the Justice Department says Shroyer can be seen standing next to InfoWars founder Alex Jones and “Stop the Steal” rally organizer Ali Alexander in a restricted area of the Capitol grounds near the inauguration stage. To date, neither Jones nor Alexander have been charged in connection with the riot.
The DOJ said investigators also identified other video showing Shroyer at the top of the stairs on the east side of the Capitol.
Shroyer also allegedly called into an InfoWars broadcast live on January 6 from the Capitol grounds. During the call, the DOJ says Shroyer claimed there were “probably 100,000 people” at the Capitol and said, “They’ve taken the Capitol grounds. They’ve surrounded the building itself. They’re on the actual building structure… We literally own these streets right now.”
According to the DOJ, Shroyer entered into a deferred prosecution agreement after he was arrested on two misdemeanor charges in December 2019 for disrupting a House Judiciary Committee meeting regarding the second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump.
During the hearing, Shroyer jumped up and yelled that Americans were "sick of your impeachment scam."
"You're the one committing treason!" he yelled at House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
Shroyer's deferred prosecution agreement called for him not to engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol grounds or building or to parade, demonstrate or picket within any Capitol building.
The agreement also required Shroyer to complete 32 hours of community service. According to the Justice Department, as of January 6 Shroyer had not completed any of those hours – meaning the terms of his deferred prosecution agreement were still in effect.
D.C. Superior Court records show a summons was issued for Shroyer on Friday afternoon ordering him to appear before a judge on September 30 to answer to the new criminal charges against him.
Shroyer said during his show Friday he'd been informed by his lawyer a warrant had been issued for his arrest "with allegations involving January 6." Shroyer said he would have to turn himself in to federal authorities on Monday morning.
"I plan on declaring innocence of these charges, because I am," he said.
"Probably shouldn't even be on air right now, but, we're going to go ahead and do a broadcast anyway," he added.
We're tracking all of the arrests, charges and investigations into the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Sign up for our Capitol Breach Newsletter here so that you never miss an update.