Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
A pair of Indiana men have been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers and other behavior during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Donald Lee Moss, 62, of Elizabethtown, and James Link Behymer, 61, of Hope, were charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the two men are also charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building or grounds.
The FBI arrested the men Wednesday in Indiana. The two made their initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6 at approximately 2 p.m., a group of approximately 15 Metropolitan Police Department officers, wearing riot gear, walked toward the Lower West Terrace of the U. S.Capitol building to assist in managing a growing crowd of rioters.
Body-worn camera video footage shows two men, later identified as defendants Moss and Behymer, briefly speaking to each other and pointing at the officers before approaching.
Officers then directed the two men move back, but they refused.
Behymer raised his right arm with a closed fist and repeatedly shouted, “USA! USA! USA!”
At the same time, Moss pointed towards the U.S. Capitol building and shouted, “[Unintelligible]. This is our f—ing house!” A few seconds later, an officer extended their hand and touched Behymer’s right arm, and attempted to keep him back. Moss then forcefully shoved the officer’s hand off of Behymer.
After Moss shoved the officer’s arm, he shouted, “[Unintelligible] . . .your f—ing hand off of him!” and “Keep your f—ing hand off of him!”
Behymer then shoved another officer’s arm as that officer attempted to keep Behymer and other rioters away from the surrounded MPD officers.
After Behymer pushed the second officer’s arm, Moss pointed at the second officer and shouted for the third time, “Keep your f—ing hand off of him!” Behymer then raised his fist in the air and again shouted, “USA! USA! USA!”
Court documents say that Moss and Behymer continued to engage with police. In one instance, Moss swung his right arm downward and struck an officer’s hand and baton and in another, forcefully pushed an MPD officer from behind. Behymer repeatedly physically confronted police and grabbed at their hands and batons.
After their physical confrontation with police, the two men climbed a staircase to the Upper West Terrace and entered the Capitol building via the Senate Wing doors.
The two men then made their way to the Capitol Crypt. At about 2:31 p.m., Moss was recorded on Capitol closed-circuit television in the Crypt Lobby, carrying a chair across the room and placing it directly in the path of a retractable ceiling door, which would prevent the door from closing.
Court documents stated that immediately before Moss moved the chair into the door’s path, police were attempting to close off the area by closing the retractable doors. Moss and Behymer then exited the Capitol.
At about 2:48 p.m., rioters broke through a barricade set up by Capitol Police at the Senate Wing doors. Roughly two minutes later, Moss and Behymer re-entered the Capitol again via the Senate Wing doors and walked toward the Crypt before exiting at 3:34 p.m.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana provided assistance.
The FBI’s Indianapolis and Washington Field Offices are investigating the case.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.