Community Corner
Another Florida Man Is Arrested In U.S. Capitol Violence; This Make Eight From The Sunshine State
Tristan Chandler Stevens, 25, of Pensacola, faces federal charges for participating in the violent breach of U.S. Capitol.
By Michael Moline
February 5, 2021
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Another Florida man faces federal charges for participating in the violent breach of U.S. Capitol. He is Tristan Chandler Stevens, 25, of Pensacola, according to U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe of the Northern District of Florida.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement assisted in the arrest on Friday morning, Keefe’s office said in a written statement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., will prosecute.
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“A month has passed, yet our nation remains shocked at the appalling acts of domestic terrorism that took place at the heart of our American democracy,” Keefe said.
“Our office, in close coordination with all other federal law enforcement agencies, will continue to apply every possible resource to identify, prosecute, and punish anyone who participated in this anarchistic criminality.”
That makes Stevens the eighth Floridian charged in the incursion, undertaken on Jan. 6 in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump in the presidential election. The mob rampaged through the building, seeking legislators and documents, but ultimately the certification went through.
Five people died, including a police officer, and two other officers subsequently committed suicide.
The charges are forcibly assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees; knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, Keefe’s office said.
Keefe’s office asked anyone with information about individuals who participated or incited the violence to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit photos or video to fbi.gov/USCapitol.
This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.