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John Joseph Karl broke through officers' walls and entered through the door of a U.S. senator's office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a criminal complaint filed this week.
Then he became a policeman.
The 41-year-old was interviewed by FBI agents in February 2021 but was arrested Thursday. He joined the Pinetops Police Department in December 2023 after graduating from training at Eastern North Carolina Community College, according to college The town of Pinetops is located about 70 miles east of Raleigh.
Carl's case file was sealed and not made public Friday morning, but the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia released the criminal complaint detailing FBI interviews with Carl and his fellow rioter.
That person, whose name was deleted from the documents, turned himself in three days after the uprising. Karl's name was also mentioned.
On February 17, 2021, FBI agents interviewed Karl, who admitted to participating in the riot and showed footage he recorded pushing Capitol Police and storming the building. According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, he had come from a rally by former President Donald Trump on the National Mall.
“On our end, there wasn’t a lot of swinging or throwing … it was just guys putting their shoulders to the police with their shields and pushing the crowd back,” Carl said during an interview, according to a criminal complaint.
The FBI says Carl “joined other aggressive rioters and held his ground against officers who tried to remove him.”
Instead of listening to the officers, he “raised his arms to push the officers back … and grabbed one officer’s arm and baton,” according to footage captured by his body camera.
It all happened around 2 p.m. on January 6, 2021. By 3:05 p.m., Karl and his unnamed companion had entered the office of Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.
Karl was charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disturbance and misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and parading, picketing, and demonstrating on Capitol grounds.
Pinetops police referred an inquiry Friday from The Charlotte Observer to the city attorney, who did not immediately respond.
More than 1,488 people in nearly all 50 states have been charged with crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Nearly 550 of those people have also been charged with felony assault or obstruction of law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
If convicted and sentenced, Carl will join more than 30 North Carolina defendants who have been sentenced to date.
In September, Laura Steele, Former North Carolina Police Officer From High Point, he was sentenced to 366 days in prison. In November, police ordered Former Marine arrested Living in the Lake Norman area.
Members US House Committee The commission investigating the January 6 attack concluded that Trump incited his supporters to violence by falsely claiming fraud in the 2020 election.
In North Carolina, CNN recently reported that Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, Michelle Morrow, Video posted on January 6, 2021 She called on Trump to enact a federal law that “completely sets aside the Constitution” so he could remain president.
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