MIDDLESEX, N.C. — Editor's Note: Video features the state of the nation one year after the U.S. Capitol riot
A man federal investigators said was involved in the breaching of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was arrested on charges of assaulting law enforcement.
Matthew Jason Beddingfield, 21, of Middlesex is charged 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.
Federal investigators said Beddingfield jumped over a barricade towards a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers. They said he used a flagpole he brought with him and jabbed the officers with it. They also said he threw a metal rod at law enforcement. He also entered the U.S. Capitol building where investigators said he joined a group of rioters to storm the Senate Wing. Investigators said he was in the front of the group and once again used the flagpole to strike or attempt to strike officers. They said he also entered the office of at least one Congressperson.
He will appear in court on Wednesday in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Since the attack, more than 725 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 225 people are charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.