A former NFL linebacker has been charged for his role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, according to prosecutors.
Leander Antwione Williams, 31, who played for the Detroit Lions in the 2016 season, was arrested by FBI agents in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday – over three years on from the violent insurrection where Donald Trump supporters tried to stop the certification of the election in President Joe Biden’s favor.
The 6ft 3, almost 250lb former professional athlete – who went by just Antwione Williams during his brief sporting career – was allegedly among the initial group of rioters to breach the restricted perimeter of the Capitol grounds.
According to prosecutors, at around 1.13pm that day, Williams allegedly “confronted and overpowered” a Capitol police officer at the perimeter line.
Prosecutors said he “lunged” towards the officer and swatted at his hand while trying to steal a metal bike rack which was being used to try to maintain control of the area.
One officer used crowd control spray on the suspect, prosecutors said.
Around 25 minutes later, Williams was allegedly caught on footage again grabbing the barricades from police officers, as they tried to push him away.
“Williams resisted and allegedly struck an officer on the head with a forceful arm motion,” according to prosecutors.
At about 2.27pm, Williams then allegedly grabbed and shoved two more police officers as he tried to breach the perimeter – before rioters took over the West Plaza, authorities said.
During the chaos, Williams joined in on chants of “USA!” and raised his fists to the sky, according to prosecutors.
The former linebacker then allegedly remained at the heart of the violence near the Lower West Terrace between 3.10pm and 4.45pm before leaving the Capitol that evening.
For more than three years, the suspect’s identity had been unknown with the FBI sharing photographs of the rioter under the acronym “AFO-419” (Assault on Federal Officer).
Williams has now been arrested and charged with a felony offense for assaulting, resisting, or impeding law officers, and obstruction of law enforcement, the US Attorney’s Office in Washington DC said in a statement. He was also charged with several misdemeanor offenses including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds and entering and remaining in a restricted building.
Williams will make his initial appearance in the Southern District of Georgia, authorities said.
Since January 6 2021, more than 1,560 individuals have been charged across all 50 states for crimes related to the attack on the Capitol, according to the Department of Justice.
The Independent has contacted the US Attorney’s Office in Washington for more information.
