LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A northern Nevada man who pleaded guilty to assaulting officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will serve six years in federal prison, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Josiah Kenyon, 35, of Winnemucca, attacked officers and caused more than $40,000 in damage during the riot. The FBI arrested him nearly a year after the attack in December 2021 in Reno. He later pleaded guilty last year to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury.
Kenyon was seen in and around the building wearing a “Nightmare Before Christmas” Jack Skellington costume, documents said. While outside the building, he tried to break a window with his fist before using a flagpole to hit it.
Kenyon also “he used a variety of objects to assault officers” in a tunnel at the building, prosecutors said.
“He threw a large plastic pylon towards officers, striking one officer’s riot shield,” prosecutors said Tuesday. “He also struck officers with what appeared to be a table leg. He hit one officer in the leg, causing the officer to fall to the ground; the officer suffered pain and swelling to his right ankle. He then hit another officer in the head, with the table leg momentarily lodged between that officer’s helmet and face shield.”
After serving six years in prison, Kenyon will be under supervised release for three years. He must also pay more than $40,000 in restitution, Judge Carl Nichols ordered.
Since January 2021, the FBI has arrested four men in the Las Vegas valley for their roles on Jan. 6.
Last month, the FBI arrested a Las Vegas-area truck driver for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and then tweeting about it, saying in part, “I was in the capital [sic]… and all hell broke loose,” documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained said.
Bradley Nelson, of North Las Vegas, faces charges of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building, records showed.
Also in March, the FBI arrested Brandon Dillard, 39, for allegedly climbing on the exterior of the U.S. Capitol and entering the building through a broken window, documents said.
Ronald “Ronnie” Sandlin, 35, began serving a 63-month prison sentence in December. Nathaniel “Nate” DeGrave pleaded guilty for his involvement last year. He was awaiting sentencing.
The FBI has arrested more than 1,000 people for crimes related to Jan. 6, the department said. More than 300 people face charges of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.
Seven people died in the riot or in the immediate days after, including an officer for the Capitol police, the Jan. 6 committee found. Federal prosecutors have filed charges stemming from the breach against more than 900 people, so far. Damage to the Capitol building was estimated to be around $3 million.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith last fall to oversee the department’s investigations into the former president and the lead-up to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.
