TOPEKA — A Wichita man involved in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol faces eight criminal counts for allegedly surging to the front of the crowd and pushing a law enforcement officer down a flight of stairs.
An 11-page affidavit from the FBI that was part of the criminal complaint submitted to federal court indicated Michael Eckerman, 37, engaged in assault at the Capitol of a law enforcement officer trying to hold back rioters. He used “aggressive force,” the document says, to cause an officer to fall down a small set of stairs where he was subsequently sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher.
Eckerman was arrested on counts of disorderly conduct, obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricting building, civil disorder, entering the floor of Congress, demonstrating in the Capitol and assault. He was released on $10,000 bond following an initial court appearance Monday before a U.S. magistrate judge in Wichita.
Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate were convened Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College vote of the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden. The advance on the Capitol occurred after a rally for supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The FBI affidavit said Eckerman was observed on video making his way toward the back entrance to the House chamber, where U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer as she attempted to breach a barricaded door after glass was broken out.
Within two minutes of the shooting, the document said, video captured Eckerman leaving the Capitol. Outside the building, video from Freedomnews.tv included an interview with a man the FBI identified as Eckerman.
“I don’t know her name,” Eckerman said in the brief interview. “All I know is we went there as patriots. She is dead because we’re here. Those m—– f—— are traitors.”
The FBI’s affidavit pointed to surveillance video indicating Eckerman, wearing a tactical vest and red Trump hat, walked through Statuary Hall at the Capitol with two people cloaked in U.S. flags. He moved to the front of a group of protesters as the throng worked past police toward the U.S. House side of the building.
He allegedly posed for a picture next to a portrait of George Washington hanging in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol. He apparently posted an image of the himself with the painting on Facebook, the FBI document said.
The court document said Eckerman sent photographs of the chaotic event in Washington to friends in Wichita, where he had attended Wichita West High School.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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