The re-election of Donald Trump isn’t stopping the Feds from arresting people associated with the chaos that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 when a pro-Trump group stormed the Capitol building. The latest person to get cuffed is a former NFL player.
The latest arrest is of former Detroit Lions linebacker, 31-year-old Leander Antwione Williams, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C.
Federal authorities say he was detained in Savannah on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. He also faces additional misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building/grounds and disorderly conduct.
The FBI identified him from a collage of photos taken from the event by one of the rioters which was posted in September 2022. According to The Washington Post, the Feds then received a tip with a link to the football player’s Instagram page which featured items that were scene on the figure found in the photos.
Williams was also spotted in a video after he removed his mask “when suffering from the effects of chemical irritants,” the report says.
Prosecutors accuse Williams of being one of the first rioters to breach the restricted perimeter around the Peace Monument. They claim he attacked one of the Capital Police officers and joined the rioters in rushing the other officers.
Williams was accused of trying to seize the metal bike rack the officers were utilizing for crowd control and hitting one of the officers. Overall, the prosecutors accused him of using other rioters as a cover to mask his own alleged foolishness.
Williams is one of more than 1,500 people charged criminally for their alleged roles that day. Last time Trump was in office, he promised to pardon those who were facing prosecution in connection to the incident.
Will Williams make that list? We’ll see.