An El Paso man has been arrested on federal felony and misdemeanor charges for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol last year.
David Rene Arredondo, 47, is charged with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and interfering with law enforcement officers” during the riot where protesters and supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed and breached the U.S. Capitol. The charges are classified as felonies. Arredondo also faces additional misdemeanor charges, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a news release.
“According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Arredondo illegally entered the Capitol grounds. He grabbed the arm of a law enforcement officer trying to stop the mob of rioters from entering the Capitol doors,” the news release states. “By grabbing the officer’s arm and attempting to pull him away from the door, Arredondo sought to facilitate the entry of other rioters into the Capitol.”
Arredondo was inside the building for 40 minutes, the Justice Department added. He was arrested Wednesday in El Paso and is scheduled to appear before a judge in the Western District of Texas Thursday.
His arrest marks the latest in a string of investigations involving Texans who authorities allege were involved in the Capitol breach. As of Oct.11, 73 Texans have been charged with crimes for their involvement in the insurrection, according to the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. The Texas total is the second highest in the country after Florida, Houston Public Media reported.
Those charged include Jenny Cudd, a Midland woman who was sentenced in March to two months’ probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for entering and remaining inside a restricted building. Cudd is a right-wing political activist who owns a flower shop in Midland, Marfa Public Radio reported. She ran to be the city’s mayor in 2019 and has been a vocal supporter of President Trump.
Last month, Alpine resident Sean Watson was sentenced to a week in prison and two years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to “parading, demonstrating, or picketing” inside the U.S. Capitol during the attack, Marfa Public Radio reported.
Since the breach, more than 880 people have been arrested for crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice said in its statement. They include more than 270 individuals charged with assault or impeding law enforcement.
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