FL Man Hit Officer With Skateboard In Jan. 6 Capitol Breach: DOJ

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Florida man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. Wednesday for assaulting a Metropolitan police officer with a skateboard during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Grady Douglas Owens, 21, of Winter Park has been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees; knowingly entering or remaining on restricted grounds without lawful authority; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

According to court documents, a Metropolitan police officer responded to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and was struck in the head with a skateboard by a man later identified as Owens, the DOJ said. Owens appears in body worn camera footage that shows him using the skateboard to assault the officer, causing a concussion and finger injury.

Investigators found higher quality images of Owens on the #SeditionHunters Twitter page. They did an image search using these pictures and found his Instagram page, according to court documents.

After that, they tracked down a vehicle driven by Owens to Solis, a Winter Park apartment complex, and the Full Sail University parking lot. They later learned that he’s studying music production at Full Sail. A university employee met with Jonathan Hannigan, a special agent from the FBI’s Tampa field office, to help identify images of Owens, according to court documents.

Further investigation determined that Owens flew to Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia Jan. 5 from San Antonio, Texas. He returned to Texas Jan. 7, flying out of Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, court documents said.

Owens was arrested April 1 and initially appeared before U.S. Magistrate Daniel Irick in Orlando the same day before being brought to Washington, D.C. for his Wednesday indictment.