WASHINGTON — A Burke, Virginia, man was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge for allegedly leading the charge during the second breach of the Senate Wing door at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
Henos Woldenmichael, 21, was taken into custody on one felony count of civil disorder and four misdemeanor counts for his alleged role in the Capitol riot. According to charging documents, Woldenmichael was identified as early as Feb. 4, 2022, as a man seen in video shot by another rioter, Felipe Marquez, and he identified himself in pictures from the riot during an interview with FBI agents in July 2021. Marquez, who initially faced a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding, pleaded guilty last August to one misdemeanor count of disorderly and disruptive conduct and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.
According to investigators, Woldenmichael can be seen in security footage on Jan. 6 leading a crowd that pushed a lectern being used as a police barricade at the Senate Wing doors. Despite being pepper sprayed by officers, investigators say, Woldenmichael and other members of the mob broke the police line and entered the building. Woldenmichael can be seen in images and footage in multiple other places throughout the building as well, including in the office of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
In an interview with the FBI at his home last summer, Woldenmichael allegedly told agents he was on a “one man mission” on Jan. 6. Woldenmichael also told agents he had been exposed to tear gas, which they corroborated through photos found on Marquez’s phone showing him with red eyes and a swollen face.
Investigators also obtained a selfie video of Woldenmichael shot inside the Capitol in which he said, “See grandkids, this is what it’s all about. This is why you’re free. All these great patriots.”
In January, investigators sent Apple a subpoena and received information from Woldenmichael’s ICloud account, including text conversations between him and Marquez. In one, Woldenmichael allegedly described leading the mob at the Senate Wing door.
“My broken glass moment is when I commanded people to rush in behind me,” Woldenmichael wrote. In the same text, Woldenmichael claimed he believed members of antifa were in the crowd behind him.
More than 880 people have now been arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol Building. Of those, according to George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, at least 37 have been residents of Virginia.
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