Editor’s Note: The video above is previous coverage on this story.
WASHINGTON (WJW) — An Ohio man accused of spraying police officers with a chemical irritant during the Jan. 6 riots in the U.S. Capitol has been indicted on felony charges. Two other Ohio men with him who joined the mob were indicted on misdemeanors.
Ryan Swoope, 28; Saul Llamas, 29; and Jordan Siemers, 25 — all from Perry — illegally entered the Capitol grounds and the Capitol building through the Senate Wing door just after 3 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a Thursday news release from federal prosecutors.
Swoope joined a group inside a lounge, chanting, “Who’s house? Our house,” according to an FBI filing. All three left the Capitol after nine minutes inside, according to prosecutors. He then joined rioters outside the Capitol’s North Door, where a police line had been overcome, causing officers to fall back inside the building. Swoope sprayed a chemical irritant toward some officers through an open door.
“The irritant wafted in the direction of a Capitol Police sergeant, leading to coughing and watering of eyes,” reads the release.
All three were arrested on Nov. 30, according to the release. Swoope was arrested in Mentor; Llamas in Cleveland; and Siemers in Geneva.
Swoope was indicted Wednesday on five felony counts, including:
Assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon
Interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder
He was also indicted on three misdemeanor counts including:
Disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building or grounds
Engaging in an act of violence in the Capitol grounds
Parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol Building or grounds
Llamas and Siemers were indicted on four misdemeanors counts, including:
Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
Disruptive conduct in a restricted building
Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds
Parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building or grounds
Each remains free on a personal recognizance bond, court records show. Each is due back in the District of Columbia federal court on Feb. 16.
The trio is some of the more than 950 people from all 50 states arrested for alleged crimes during the Capitol breach, including more than 280 people who have been charged with assaulting or impeding officers.
