NJ man arrested, charged with storming Capitol in pro-Trump riot
WASHINGTON — A New Jersey man was among 14 people arrested by police following the deadly pro-Trump rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Police said Leonard Guthrie, from Cape May, was one of 10 people charged with unlawful entry.
New Jersey voter records show two residents with the same name in the county but New Jersey 101.5 was not able to reach either by phone or email Thursday afternoon.
Cape May is in New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District, represented by Jeff Van Drew, the only member of the New Jersey congressional delegation to oppose certifying Joe Biden's election win over President Donald Trump.
Washington, D.C., police said Thursday that 68 people were arrested, while Capitol police said they arrested 14, most for unlawful entry. Other charges include assaulting a police officer, unlawful entry, resisting arrest, unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.
More than 50 Capitol and D.C. police were injured, including several who were hospitalized, Capital police Chief Steven Sund said.
Sund, in his first public comment on the mayhem, said that rioters “actively attacked” Capitol police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and “took up other weapons against our officers.”
Four people died and the FBI was investigating the discovery of two bombs found outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic parties near the Capitol.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called for Trump to be held accountable for the protests.
"What happened yesterday is what he wanted to happen and we must not underestimate the damage he can do to our nation and our democracy over the next two weeks," Bower said. "It's not just the president who must be held accountable. So too must the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capital and threatened members of Congress."
She called for Congress to create a nonpartisan commission to investigate "security failings" as a result of the protest and to grant statehood to Washington within the first 100 days of the Biden Administration, which would allow the mayor to command the National Guard. Currently the president is in charge of the guard for Washington.
She also called for the commission to investigate "why the federal law enforcement response was much stronger at the protests over the summer than during Wednesday's attack on Congress."
Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman was critical of the Capital police response to the protest in a message shared on her Twitter account.
"Was it a lack of leadership? Were they asked to stand down? Were they thinking it wouldn't be bad because these were 'conservative' groups who like law enforcement and were - let's be honest - white? Certainly the preparedness for any of the Black Lives Matter protests showed a much greater level of attention and force. It’s an issue that we must face head on," she wrote.
Michael Symons contributed to this report.
(Includes material copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ