Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Northern Nevada man accused of assaulting officers at U.S. Capitol riot

Josiah Kenyon

Courtesy photo

Josiah Kenyon, 34, of Winnemucca, is facing charges for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

Updated Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 | 6:17 p.m.

Click to enlarge photo

This photo provided by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office shows Josiah Kenyon.

A Nevada man has been arrested on multiple charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, including assaulting law officers with what prosecutors say appeared to be a table leg with a protruding nail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

Josiah Kenyon, 34, of Winnemucca, is charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon, among other charges, the office said in a news release. He was arrested Wednesday in Reno and made his initial court appearance today in the District of Nevada. He remains detained pending further court proceedings.

Winnemucca is about 165 miles northeast of Reno.

Kenyon is believed to have been in the Capitol from about 2:53 p.m. until 3:18 p.m., near the Senate Wing door and the Crypt of the building, according to an affidavit. Surveillance video and photos from the riot show Kenyon wearing a “Jack Skellington” costume, based on Tim Burton’s movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

During the riot, prosecutors allege, Kenyon and others damaged an exterior window of the Capitol. He first tried to break the window with a closed fist, followed by several attempts with a flag staff.

Kenyon also used several objects, including what appeared to be a table leg “with a protruding nail” to assault police who were attempting to secure the building, prosecutors said. According to the affidavit, Kenyon threw an unknown object and what appears to be a large plastic pylon toward officers.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Kenyon as No. 94 in its seeking-information photos, according to the release. The Washington Field Office also received assistance from the Reno Resident Agency of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police, Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

In the 10 months since the insurrection — in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory — more than 675 people have been arrested from nearly every state for crimes related to the breach.

More than 210 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing, according to the release.