EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio - An East Liverpool man is facing charges after allegedly punching officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

According to department of justice officials, 38-year-old Kenneth Joseph Owen Thomas was arrested Wednesday in Alabama.

Thomas is charged with federal offenses including assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and engaging in physical violence on Capitol grounds. He made his initial court appearance in the Northern District of Alabama on Wednesday.

On Jan. 6, court documents state Thomas was on the Upper West Terrace where police body camera footage showed him advancing toward a line of law enforcement and pushing against their shields.

According to court documents, the footage showed Thomas punching and striking the officers with his fist and forearm at least twice.

 

When officers started to dispel the crowd of rioters from the steps, Thomas allegedly turned toward rioters and ordered them to "hold the line" against advancing officers, repeating this several times.


Court documents state that in later interviews, law enforcement officers confirmed the attack and stated the individual "was one of the first to come in and start hitting and pushing officers on the line."

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.