A Colorado man accused of shoving police officers before breaching barricades during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was arrested Wednesday.
Matthew James Melsen, 34, was arrested in Wheat Ridge and faces felony charges including civil disorder and assaulting a police officer, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday. He also faces several misdemeanor charges.
Body-worn camera footage shows Melsen reaching over a bike rack where officers were guarding the Capitol on Jan. 6 and pushing a Metropolitan police officer in the chest, court documents said. After an officer pushed him away, Melsen returned with his hands outstretched and shoved the officer again.
Officers sprayed pepper spray at Melsen and pushed him back into the crowd of rioters, court documents stated.
Melsen was later seen climbing onto scaffolding that was erected on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, according to court documents, before entering the tunnel, where some of the most violent attacks against police officers happened during the riot.
Inside the tunnel, a Metropolitan police officer climbed up on a ledge to try to stop rioters with a long stick, court documents said. Melsen grabbed the stick along with other rioters and held onto it until the stick broke. Another rioter used the broken part of the stick to strike the officers’ shield while yelling, “Let us in!” Melsen was also seen trying to grab an officer’s baton that the officer was using to stop rioters from attacking the police, authorities said.
An acquaintance reported she saw on Facebook that Melsen was in Washington, D.C., for the rally that preceded the attack, court documents said. In an interview with investigators, Melsen said he attended former president Donald Trump’s speech, but did not go near or enter the Capitol building.
Melsen is one of at least 20 Coloradans who faces charges in their involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Many have been sentenced, while some still await trial.
In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,310 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach, including about 470 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said.
The federal investigation is ongoing.