LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The FBI has arrested a Las Vegas man for allegedly climbing on the exterior of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and entering the building through a broken window, documents said.
Brandon Dillard, 39, faces charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building, documents said.
In January 2021, a person uploaded a 90-minute video of the insurrection to an FBI database, documents said. The video includes a person, wearing a spider web-hooded sweatshirt, climbing down an exterior Capitol wall. The same person then enters the Capitol building through a broken window, documents said.
Online comments gave the person seen climbing on the building the moniker “#SpiderNazi,” documents said.
Investigators reviewed more videos, finding the same man in videos with his face exposed, they said. The FBI then compared the man in the video to Dillard’s Nevada driver’s license photo, finding “a strong resemblance,” they wrote in court documents.
The FBI also obtained data from Dillard’s phone carrier, which showed his phone in the area of the Capitol on Jan. 6, they said.
Travel records also showed Dillard traveled from Las Vegas to the Washington Area on Jan. 5 and returned to Las Vegas on Jan. 8.
The FBI also compared a photo of Dillard in a 2017 Las Vegas Review-Journal article to the images, they said.
Dillard appeared before a federal judge in Nevada for his initial appearance on Monday, March 6, records showed. Prosecutors did not seek his detention pending trial.
It was unclear when Dillard would appear in federal court in the District of Columbia.
The FBI has arrested nearly 1,000 people for crimes related to Jan. 6, the department said. More than 300 people face charges of assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
The FBI arrested two men in Las Vegas for their roles in the insurrections in January 2021.
Ronald “Ronnie” Sandlin, 35, began serving a 63-month prison sentence in December.
The 8 News Now Investigators interviewed both men from jail in 2021. Inside the Capitol, Sandlin attempted to rip off an officer’s helmet before reaching the U.S. Senate Chamber. While leaving the building, Sandlin took an oil painting off a wall before leaving it behind, prosecutors said.
Sandlin was also seen on video smoking weed inside the building. He is heard on the video saying, “People are smoking weed in here. Thank you, patriot. We made history in here,” according to court documents.
Nathaniel “Nate” DeGrave pleaded guilty to his involvement last year. He was awaiting sentencing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.
