CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina police officer was arrested this week in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, federal prosecutors announced.
John Joseph Carl, 41, of Pinetops, was charged with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, picketing and demonstrating in a Capitol building for his alleged actions during the attack at the U.S. Capitol. The charges include felonies and misdemeanors, according to the Justice Department.
Carl was arrested by the FBI on Aug. 15. Carl was hired as a police officer in Pinetops last June, according to WRAL. In a statement, the town's attorney said leaders "had no knowledge" of Carl's possible involvement in the Jan. 6 attack. He was suspended from the force after his arrest.
Pinetops is about 235 miles east of Charlotte and 71 miles east of Raleigh.
According to court documents, Carl attended former President Donald Trump's rally on the National Mall on Jan. 6 and made his way to the Capitol with other rioters. Documents claim he was in the front of a crowd of rioters confronting officers near the northwest scaffolding stairs. He's accused of resisting police commands to move before grabbing an officer's baton. Video provided by the Justice Department shows Carl approaching an officer just before 2 p.m.
Prosecutors allege that Carl entered the Capitol around 3 p.m. and made his way into a U.S. senator's office.
More than 1,400 people in all 50 states have been charged for crimes related to the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Anyone with information that could lead to an arrest is asked to call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.