Officials: NC man accused of attacking police at Jan. 6 riot was out on bail for attempted murder

WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man accused of attacking police and jabbing them with a flagpole at the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol was out on bail for an attempted murder charge at that time, according to reports.

Matthew Jason Beddingfield, 21, of Middlesex, jumped over a barricade and charged at a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the building on Jan. 6, according to documents from the Department of Justice.

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Information gathered and posted by a network of online sleuths led to the arrest, the feds reported.

A crowd surrounded the officers and Beddingfield attacked the officers, jabbing at them with a metal flagpole he brought with him.

Footage showed that shortly after that, Beddingfield threw the metal rod at police. He meandered around the grounds before going inside the Capitol, officials said.

Beddingfield made his way to the Great Rotunda before joining a group of rioters, who attempted to storm the Senate Wing and again, he appeared to use the flagpole to hit officers.

He walked around some more and went inside at least one office of a Congressperson before leaving the Capitol.

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Beddingfield, 21, of Middlesex, was charged Tuesday with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon or inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds and other offenses.

He was arrested in Smithfield, North Carolina, Tuesday and will make his first court appearance the next day.

Beddingfield is accused of opening fire in a Smithfield Walmart parking lot in December 2019. The Johnston County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Beddingfield was out on bail for an attempted murder charge at the time of the riot.

He has since pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, felony assault with a deadly weapon.

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Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

(Watch the video below: A timeline of the Jan. 6 riot)

Chaos at the Capitol: A timeline of the Jan. 6 riot (NCD)

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