A Republican legislator from West Virginia and an Alabama man caught with a cache of weapons in his pickup truck — including “homemade napalm” — are among more than a dozen pro-Trump rioters facing federal charges because of their role in the bloody attack on the U.S. Capitol, Justice Department officials said Friday.
In a conference call with reporters, principal assistant U.S. attorney Ken Kohl said the West Virginia politician, Derrick Evans, had been charged with unlawfully entering restricted areas of the Capitol during Wednesday’s assault, which left a police officer and at least four other people dead.
Evans live-streamed himself while breaking into the Capitol screaming “we’re in,” and members of the West Virginia Legislature have called for him to be expelled. It was not immediately clear if Evans was in custody.
The Alabama man, Lonnie Coffman, was caught by authorities with 11 molotov cocktails in his red pickup truck parked near the U.S. Capitol, according to Kohl.
Coffman made the explosive devices with “not only gasoline, but Styrofoam,” which amounts to “homemade napalm,” Kohl said. Also found in Coffman’s possession was two handguns and an assault rifle.
Among the other 14 individuals the Justice Department unveiled charges against Friday was Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was spotted in photos breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
Barnett, who was arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Friday morning, will face charges of unlawful entry and theft of public property, the officials said.
The officials on Friday’s call did not say if a suspect had been identified in the death of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during the riots. The officials said authorities are sparing “no resources” in the multi-agency investigation into Sicknick’s death.
Story by Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News