The following was taken from a press release distributed by the United States Attorney’s Office – District of Columbia on January 30, 2024:
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. – A Georgia man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Justin McAllister, 29, of Douglasville, Georgia, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. In addition to the felonies, McAllister is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
McAllister was arrested on Jan. 28, 2024, by the FBI in LaGrange, Georgia, and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of Georgia. According to court documents, McAllister was identified in an open-source video posted to YouTube among a crowd of rioters who had gathered near a police line on the West Front of Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, as law enforcement officers attempted to prevent rioters from advancing towards the building.
McAllister approached the police line holding a flagpole with a dark-colored flag that read “Jesus is My Savior” and “Trump is My President.” McAllister also carried with him a second flagpole.
McAllister is then seen using both poles to repeatedly strike at Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and made contact with the helmet of at least one officer holding the line. Later, closed-circuit television footage showed McAllister entering the Capitol building through the Senate Parliamentarian Door at approximately 2:53 p.m.
Surveillance footage and open-source video further depicted McAllister interacting with law enforcement while inside the Capitol. McAllister left the Capitol at approximately 3:02 p.m. via the North Door.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta and Washington Field Offices, which identified McAllister as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #429 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.