Feds Charge PA Man For Role In Capitol Riots, 14 Others Arrested

PENNSYLVANIA — Federal and local authorities announced charges filed in connection with the siege on the United States Capitol building that occurred Wednesday as Congress convened to certify the presidential election results. Among those arrested and charged were more than a dozen Pennsylvania residents. One of those Pennsylvanians is now facing federal charges.

The Department of Justice Friday said 13 people are now facing federal charges in connection with Wednesday's events, including Terry Brown of Pennsylvania. He was charged Thursday with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia Thursday also announced hundreds of arrests tied to Wednesday's event, in which supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to block president-elect Joe Biden's victory in the general election.

Among the numerous arrests were 14 Pennsylvanians.

Below are their names, ages, and charges:

• Ryan Patten, 27 — Unlawful Assembly - disorderly Conduct
• Anthony Tammaro, 60 — Curfew Violation, Unlawful Entry
• Tara Coleman, 40 — Curfew Violation, Unlawful Entry
• James Sinclair, 38 — Curfew Violation, Possession of Prohibited Weapon
• Sean Bare, 21 — Curfew Violation
• David Booth, 47 — Curfew Violation
• Philip Mulhollen, 39 — Curfew Violation
• Dakoda Westfall, 23 — Curfew Violation
• Matthew Bair, 30 — Curfew Violation
• Douglas Black, 37 — Curfew Violation
• Eric Black, 36 — Curfew Violation
• Thomas Haines, 33 — Curfew Violation
• Jonathan Mckinley, 40 — Curfew Violation

Others have been charged with crimes including assault on police, resisting arrest, rioting, burglary, threatening to kidnap or cause injury, defacing public property, firearms crimes, and more. See the full list of arrests and charges here.

Police in Washington, D.C. are asking for the public's help identifying others who were involved in Wednesday's events and released a list of those sought.

Additionally, a Pennsylvania man was among four people who died during the chaos. Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Ringtown in Schuylkill County, died of an unspecified "medical emergency," according to Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee III.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the Nov. 3 election. Through a White House aide, Trump announced on Twitter that Americans can expect an "orderly transition" on Jan. 20.

"While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!" Trump added.

But Wednesday's riot against the Capitol and the president's response to it proved to be the final straws for a number of members of the Trump administration.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao became the first member of Trump's Cabinet to resign following the prior day's events, CNN reported. In a statement to the agency she led, Chao wrote that she was "deeply troubled" by the events at the Capitol building.

She was followed Thursday evening by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who submitted her resignation effective Friday, according to The New York Times and others. DeVos cited the "violent protesters" whose "behavior was unconscionable" but added, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me."

Mick Mulvaney, former White House chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget, also resigned from his post as U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland.

In an interview with CNBC, Mulvaney said he told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "I can't do it. I can't stay."

"Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they're worried the president might put someone worse in," Mulvaney said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." He added that Trump was "not the same as he was eight months ago."

Two of first lady Melania Trump's top aides resigned Wednesday night, according to CNN. Stephanie Grisham, a longtime Trump family loyalist who served as White House press secretary and most recently as the first lady's chief of staff; and Anna Cristina Niceta, the White House social secretary, separately announced their resignations.

Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews also announced her resignation, saying she was honored to serve the Trump administration but "deeply disturbed" by the storming of the Capitol.

A trio of other senior White House aides — national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell — were also contemplating resigning, three senior administration officials told The Washington Post.

With reporting by Megan VerHelst of Patch

Editor's Note: a previous version of this story listed a Pennsylvania resident as having been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 events. That resident was charged in connection with a Dec. 12 incident in Washington DC. Patch regrets the error.