Marine veteran from Catawba County arrested for role in Jan. 6 Capitol breach

CHARLOTTE — Nearly three years after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the 2020 presidential election, a man from Catawba County was arrested for felony and misdemeanor charges.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday, Lee Stutts of Terrell was charged with numerous crimes for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot in Washington D.C.

Stutts, 46, was arrested Thursday and is expected to make an appearance in court on Friday.

According to federal investigators, Stutts was “one of the rioters who led the way in the final breaking of the police line on the West Plaza.”

Stutts, who was identified as a former United States Marine, was wearing a black helmet and allegedly assaulted “at least seven different U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers,” according to the Department of Justice.

He’s also accused of throwing an item at a line of officers and joining others “in using an enormous sign as a battering ram against police.”

Federal authorities are charging Stutts with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder,” which is a felony charge. He’s also facing misdemeanor charges of “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.”

According to the Department of Justice, more than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, including more than 400 people charged with “assaulting or impeding law enforcement.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the case is still open, and if you have information about suspects in the Capitol riot, you’re asked to call 1-800-225-5324.

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