Mississippi man arrested for role in U.S. Capitol riot
A Mississippi man has been arrested in connection with an assault on two police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
Michael Leon Brock, 54, of Walls, faces federal charges of assault, disorderly conduct, physical violence and obstruction of law enforcement at the Capitol building. His initial court appearance was Tuesday morning at the Northern District of Mississippi federal courthouse in Oxford.
Federal investigators have accused Brock of charging two law enforcement officers with a 4-foot-long rod and repeatedly pushing and ramming one of the officers on the upper west terrace of the Capitol building. The officers were attempting to hold the rioting crowd back from breaching the Capitol.
Brock was arrested in Southaven. At least two other Mississippians have been arrested in connection with the riot on a lesser charge of violating curfew the day of the riot.
Brock was identified through body camera footage and videos posted to the social media site Parler, according to court documents. The U.S. Department of Justice included in its complaint several pictures of a man wearing a green hoodie and repeatedly striking at officers and identified the man as Brock.
Investigators with the FBI were tipped off in June by a call from a confidential witness. About a month later, another witness came forward and identified Brock as having participated in the riot. Investigators were also able to tie Brock to the Capitol area that day from his cellphone records, according to court documents.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of
Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.
The arrest comes over six months since a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol grounds, attacked police and penetrated the building. The rioters were attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden.
One police officer and four others died in the melee.
Brock is the manager of Tri-state Enterprises LLC in Walls, a general freight trucking company, according to Mississippi Secretary of State's Office records. U.S. Department of the Treasury records reveal the company received over $18,000 in federal coronavirus relief. The loan was forgiven on Jan. 7, the day after the riot, according to records.
In the six months since riot, more than 535 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 165 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the Department of Justice.
The investigation remains ongoing. Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or jvicory@gannett.com. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.