By Shawn Stinson
A Grant County man is facing charges for participating in violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
John Thomas Gordon, 47, of Bayard is accused of throwing a hard object at a door as police officers were attempting to secure the building on the other side of the glass window. Authorities also allege Gordon kicked the door in order to gain entry into the Capitol and yelled obscenities at officers.
Gordon was arrested Friday in Martinsburg. He is charged in a criminal complaint filed in Washington, DC, with federal civil disorder and five misdemeanors, including destruction of government property.
It is not known if Gordon has an attorney.
According to the statement of facts that accompanied the charging documents, Gordon has head tattoos and was identified through photographs on social media, as well as photos and videos of the Capitol breach. Gordon admitted to a West Virginia sheriff, who conducted an interview of him in March 2021, that he had been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Nearly five months later, a FBI special agent interviewed an individual close to Gordon who confirmed Gordon’s identity in the photographs.
More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, incident. More than 300 have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor charges and more than 200 have been sentenced.