These Are The Coloradans Allegedly Involved In Storming The U.S. Capitol On January 6

Capitol Breach The Road to Riot
(Julio Cortez/AP)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. Right-wing extremism has previously mostly played out in isolated pockets of America or in smaller cities. In contrast, the deadly attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol targeted the very heart of government. It brought together members of disparate groups, creating the opportunity for extremists to establish links with each other.

CPR is tracking the Coloradans who are accused of participating in the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The information in this list is drawn from a database maintained by the office of the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., which is coordinating the prosecutions. NPR is also tracking arrests and some of the overall demographic data of participants. You can find that information here.


Todd Branden Casey, Denver

Casey, 53, was arrested in Georgetown on Aug 30, 2023 on felony and misdemeanor charges including assaulting law enforcement. Through police body camera footage and other evidence, Casey was identified among other rioters along a makeshift police barricade, shouting expletives toward officers along the West Plaza on Capitol grounds. Later, video appears to show Casey slamming his hands against the metal barriers and taunting the officers in an attempt to provoke them. Casey is also accused of shoving an officer in the chest and later grabbing him after rioters had passed the barriers. The officer was pulled free by another officer.

Jacob Travis Clark, Trinidad

Clark, 32, is a resident of Trinidad and faces six charges, including Obstruction of Congress and Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds. He was arrested on April 21. FBI agents matched stills from the Capitol’s CCTV recordings against Clark’s photo in the Colorado DMV database. Videos allegedly show Clark confronting and threatening Capitol police at multiple places inside the Capitol. He was found guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in September, 2023.

Glen Wes Lee Croy, Colorado Springs

Croy, 45, of Colorado Springs, came to the FBI’s attention after sending a photo of himself standing next to a bust of Lincoln in the Capitol to a Facebook friend. That person forwarded the picture and conversation to law enforcement. Social media searches also uncovered that Croy tweeted at Rep. Lauren Boebert in late December to say he was coming to the Jan. 6 protest. Prosecutors originally brought four charges against Croy, including Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. He was arrested on February 16. In August, Croy pled guilty to one count of Demonstrating in a Capitol Building, a Class B misdemeanor. As part of their plea deal offer, prosecutors required that he sit for an interview with investigators and pay $500 restitution to the U.S. Treasury. In November, a judge sentenced Croy to two weeks of community corrections and 90 days of home confinement. At his sentencing hearing, Croy described himself as an "idiot" for entering the capitol during the riot.

Tyler Ethridge, Colorado Springs

Ethridge, 33, faces charges that include one count of felony civil disorder and five misdemeanor-related offenses. He allegedly helped remove a fence and illegally entered the U.S. Capitol building with rioters. Ethridge climbed a media scaffolding and encouraged the crowd to keep moving. He filmed videos and posted them on social media during the riot. Authorities say he remained active on social media after January 6th, posting on September 24, "Don't be afraid of what they sentence you with. I'm not. I'm ready for whatever I'll be charged with. America is still primed and ready."

Robert Gieswein, Woodland Park

The 24-year-old Woodland Park man was arrested on four charges, including Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon. He ended up accepting a plea deal and was sentenced to four years in federal prison on two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. During the Capitol breach, Gieswein encouraged people to break into the building, as well as intimidated and assaulted U.S. Capitol Police officers using a baseball bat and some kind of aerosol irritant. Law enforcement has identified him as a member of the Three Percenters militia. Based on the seriousness of the charges against him, a judge ordered that Gieswein remain jailed until his preliminary hearing. He was arrested on January 18, 2022.

Jonathan David Grace, Colorado Springs

Grace, 49, was charged with felony and misdemeanor charges relating to the Jan. 6th riot. According to court documents, Grace participated in a confrontation with law enforcement officers in the Lower West Terrace and tunnel areas of the Capitol. Grace was among the rioters who used stolen police shields to push against and hit officers He sprayed chemical irritants and threw projectiles at officers guarding the doors while chanting “HEAVE HO!” and “PUSH!” After officers cleared the tunnel, he remained near the entrance and watched rioters drag and brutally attack an officer. The FBI identified Grace through images provided by the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles and financial transactions. In October 2023, he pled guilty to one count of assaulting officers and in January, 2024, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Logan Grover, Erie

People who know Grover, 43, alerted law enforcement to a social media post he made about attending the January 6 protest. In it he wrote, "I have no interest in violence. Sadly I recognize that violence is highly likely. I am not certain what is going to happen tomorrow. I am certain I need to be here." Grover, a 10-year-veteran of the Army Reserve who now lives in Erie, faced four charges for illegally entering the US Capitol and was arrested on April 28. On July 19, Grover accepted a plea agreement that means his charges are reduced to a single misdemeanor count.

Thomas Patrick Hamner, Peyton

Hamner was arrested on November 9, 2021 in Colorado Springs on charges that included engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon. Federal prosecutors said videos show Hamner fighting with police over a makeshift barricade they had erected out of bike racks, and later joining other rioters in using a large metal sign to try to break through the officers' line to get to the building. Pictures that investigators believe to be of Hamner were included in a deck of images of riot participants the FBI asked for the public's to help identify. Hamner pled guilty to one charge and was sentenced to up to 30 months in federal prison. Prosecutors continue to pursue five other counts against him.

Jennifer Horvath, Colorado Springs

Horvath was arrested the first week of May 2022 on three criminal counts. The statement of facts in her case identifies her as the girlfriend of another Coloradan arrested for participating in the riot, Glen Wes Lee Croy. She was identified in a photo that Croy sent to someone who then contacted the FBI. A video sent to the same person allegedly shows Horvath inside the Capitol, putting sunglasses and a hat on a statue of Winston Churchill. Videos appear to show Horvath and Croy marching with a crowd inside the building, chanting "Who's house? Our house" and yelling at police officers attempting to block their progress. At one point while she was in the Capitol, Horvath was tackled by an officer who believed she had pepper spray. She pled guilty to her charges and was sentenced to serve 36 months probation, including 90 days of house arrest, on Nov. 15, 2022. Horvath will also pay a $500 fine.

Klete Derik Keller, Colorado Springs

Keller is a 38-year-old former two-time gold medal Olympic swimmer and a realtor in Colorado Springs. A website that covers swimming originally identified him in pictures inside the Capitol, in which the 6'6" athlete stands out above the crowd, wearing what appears to be an Olympic USA jacket. eller was arrested on January 13 and charged with six counts, including Disorderly Conduct and Obstruction of an Official Proceeding. In late September, he reached a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to one count of obstructing Congress, a felony. He is awaiting sentencing.

Avery Carter MacCracken, Telluride

MacCracken, 68, was accused of grabbing, pushing and hitting two DC police officers who were attempting to prevent the crowd from breaking into the building. He was first identified by a Telluride resident who was examining pictures on the website Sedition Hunters. When the person shared their tip with local law enforcement, the sheriff and chief marshal also identified the man in the photos as MacCracken, a sometimes-homeless resident with whom officers have had frequent contact over the years. MacCracken was arrested on Dec. 11, 2021 and charged with numerous felonies, including assaulting an officer. In October 2023, he pled guilty to a single felony.

Matthew James Melsen, Wheat Ridge

Melsen was arrested in late February, 2024, and charged with two felonies: civil disorder and assaulting police officers. According to prosecutors, the 34 year old was identified on video reaching across a barricade made of bike racks to shove a Metropolitan Police officer twice, before being pepper sprayed and retreating into the crowd. Videos later allegedly captured Melsen climbing scaffolding that had been set up for president Biden's inauguration and entering a narrow area on the Lower West Terrace. Once there, he's accused of helping pull a wooden staff away from an officer and trying to grab another officer's baton. A statement of facts in the case says Melsen was first interviewed by FBI agents in the spring of 2021. He told the agents that he went to D.C. for the Stop the Steal rally and marched from there to the Capitol, but Melsen claimed he had stayed far away from the building and left as the protest turned violent. Investigators, however, located someone who was in photographs from the rally with Melsen, and said Melsen had told them he fought with police.

Patrick Montgomery, Littleton

The FBI was alerted to Montgomery, 48, by several tipsters who identified him in photos from inside the Senate chambers during the insurrection and forwarded social media posts he made about his participation. He was arrested on January 17. The Littleton resident faces four charges, including Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct at the Grounds and in a Capitol Building. In May, Montgomery was placed on house arrest after FBI agents learned that he had hunted a mountain lion using a pistol, despite having a felony record for robbery which bars him from legally owning a gun. According to a filing from prosecutors, Montgomery also admitted to using dogs to illegally kill a bobcat in late January. In asking the magistrate to order house arrest, prosecutors said Montgomery had repeatedly and flagrantly violated the law while on pretrial release.

Hunter Palm, Unknown

According to the arrest warrant, one of Palm's relatives contacted the FBI shortly after the insurrection to report that he had told them about entering the U.S. Capitol and walking around during the riot. When questioned by the FBI, Palm allegedly said he was pushed into the building, but security footage shows him walking in freely. Other videos show him entering Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with a crowd shouting about killing her, and then urging others to hack into a locked laptop. Images also allegedly show Palm sitting with his feet up on a conference table in the Speaker's office. He faces four charges, including Obstruction of Justice/Congress and Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds.

Jeffrey Sabol, Jefferson County

Sabol is from Colorado but was arrested on January 27 in upstate New York. After officers pulled him over for driving erratically he told them he was wanted for the FBI for his role in the insurrection. Authorities say the then 51-year-old made plans to fly to Switzerland to evade arrest. When that fell through, he tried to kill himself. Sabol is accused of assaulting a Capitol police officer who was defending the building, punching him and pulling him down the stairs into the crowd, where the man was beaten further. Sabol faces seven charges, including Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon and Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon. Because of his alleged attempt to flee the country, a judge ordered Sabol held until trial. On Aug. 18, 2023, Sabol was found guilty of three felony charges after a bench trial. Sentencing is set for January.

Timothy Wayne Williams, Trinidad

The FBI said it got an anonymous tip that Williams, 38, and his girlfriend were inside the U.S. Capitol during the riot. Later Williams got a visit from the FBI at his house in Trinidad, where he admitted that was true. An affidavit in support of the arrest warrant states video shows him inside the Rotunda and other rooms. Williams was seen on the video "joining in chants with the crowd towards law enforcement," but he told officers he did not participate in property destruction. Now he is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly or disruptive conduct on the Capitol grounds to disrupt government business; and parading, picketing or demonstrating in the Capitol.

Williams told the FBI he had lost his job during the pandemic after refusing to take a COVID-19 test.

Eric Zeis, Monument

Zeis, 37, was arrested Nov. 13, 2023 and charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, as well as a number of misdemeanors. He allegedly drove a group of people in his van to Washington D.C. to attend the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally. That night, he told one of the people in the gorup that he'd participated in the Capitol breach and showed off a telephone handset he'd removed from the building. CCTV images from around the Capitol allegedly show Zeis in the crowd that helped push police away from the doors on the building's eastern side and then walking around with crowds inside, including participating in a confrontation with officers guarding the doors to the House chamber.

This post will continue to be updated.