North Brunswick Man Charged For Role In U.S. Capitol Insurrection

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A 35-year-old North Brunswick man faces multiple criminal charges after authorities say that he assaulted several law enforcement officers during the Capitol insurrection in January, federal authorities said.

Christopher J. Quaglin was arrested and appeared in court last week after he had been sought by the FBI’s Washington field office as one of the people wanted by the agency following the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors said. Quaglin was charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding officers and employees, civil disorder, and obstruction of an official proceeding, according to a news release.

Police Body Worn Camera footage shows Quaglin —wearing protective gear including a helmet and gas mask — engaging violently and disruptively with police, authorities said. According to charging documents, Quaglin was captured on video approaching the police line and verbally engaging with MPD officers, shouting, “You don’t want this fight. You do not want this f---- fight. You are on the wrong f---- side.”

Quaglin was also seen on video repeatedly pointing at and shoving a U.S. Capitol Police officer on the Lower West terrace while appearing “increasingly agitated”, prosecutors said. He also can be seen grabbing and pushing an officer by the neck before working with others to rip one of the barrier fences out of the hands of police officers. Video footage also captured Quaglin lunging at an officer and pushing him down. As a result, several officers dropped their shields which Quaglin and others stole and passed into the crowd, authorities said.

A short time later, video footage captured Quaglin pushed his way toward the front of the crowd at the U.S. Capitol and continued to attempt to push past police guarding the lower West Terrace exterior doors. Authorities said that Quaglin attacked police officers with the stole riot gear shields and sprayed officers with a chemical irritant and sprayed the irritant into the face of an officer who was not wearing a face shield or gas mask. Authorities said he can later be seen at the front of the crowd pushing up against the same officer as the crowd yells “Heave ho” and pushes behind Quaglin and others.

Quaglin remained on the front-line of rioters impeding police until approximately 3:18 p.m. when he was pushed out of the tunnel with other rioters, according to the news release.