Kansans arrested in connection to Jan. 6 insurrection
TOPEKA (KSNT) - About 1,000 people have been arrested from 2021 to 2024 in connection to the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
A total of nine Kansans have been arrested in connection to the incident, two of the arrests were made in Topeka. According to a Statement of Offense from one of the cases, at 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, people from a crowd unlawfully forced their way into the U.S. Capitol.
When the crowd entered the Capitol, certification proceedings were still underway for the 2020 Presidential Election. Members of the crowd broke windows and assaulted members of law enforcement. The insurrection resulted in more than $1.4M in damage, according to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
In one case, a couple of friends traveled from Kansas to Washington D.C. to attend the rally. The pair entered the Capitol Building on the east side where doors were broken and open. The pair left the building when a Capitol Police officer told them to leave.
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in a press release that William Chrestman, 51, of Olathe was sentenced to 55 months of prison and 36 months of supervised release. He earlier pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and threatening a federal officer on Oct. 16, 2023.
Chrestman was a member of the ‘Proud Boys’ organization’s chapter in Kansas City and traveled to Washington, D.C. with others in a show of support for then-President Donald Trump and to protest the certification of the Electoral College vote.
Some of the charges attendants could face include:
- Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds.
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
- Disorderly conduct in a capitol building.
- Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building.
- Impeding passage through the Capitol Grounds or buildings.
- Conspiracy.
- Obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder.
- Obstruction of justice/congress.
- Obstruction of an official proceeding.
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