A Maine man suspected of swinging a metal pole at police officers defending a tunnel into the U.S. Capitol during the deadly Jan. 6 riot was arrested Wednesday morning, federal prosecutors said.
Christopher Maurer, 45, was taken into custody in Westbrook and was set to appear in federal court on a slew of charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Maurer is accused of entering the tunnel on the Capitol's lower west terrace twice, first trying to hit officers who were helping a rioter who needed medical attention, then again about 90 minutes later.
That's when, prosecutors say, Maurer swung a large metal pole or pipe he'd picked up from the ground and swung it at the line of officers defending the tunnel after getting sprayed with a chemical irritant.
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Prosecutors shared surveillance footage images they said show Maurer at the tunnel's mouth.
Maurer is one of more than 985 people arrested and about 319 charged in the federal investigation into the deadly riot, which interrupted the tallying of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden. His case was being investigated by FBI agents in Boston and Washington, with help from police in Westbrook and Washington.
It wasn't immediately clear if Maurer had an attorney who could speak to his arrest.
