Elections official resigns after arrest

A Maryland elections board official resigned this week after he was arrested on federal charges related to his participation in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the authorities said.

The official, Carlos Ayala, 52, of Salisbury, Maryland, climbed police barricades during the riot and jabbed a flag he was carrying at an officer, federal prosecutors said. He was charged with civil disorder, a felony, in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia.

Ayala is also charged with related misdemeanor offenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement on Tuesday.

The FBI in Maryland arrested Ayala on Tuesday, and he made his initial appearance in court that day. He was released on pretrial services supervision.

James M. Trusty, a lawyer for Ayala, declined to comment on the arrest and charges on Thursday.

Ayala has resigned from his position as a member of the Maryland State Board of Elections, according to a statement from Michael Summers, the board's chair.

“The board is committed to maintaining the security and integrity of our elections in Maryland in a nonpartisan manner,” he said.

According to a 13-page criminal complaint, witnesses identified Ayala among a group of rioters who had illegally gathered on Jan. 6, 2021, on restricted Capitol grounds near the scaffolding erected for the upcoming inauguration.

The complaint and the prosecutor's statement stated that Ayala sported a sweatshirt hood decorated with an American flag that “cinched tightly around his head.”