Brandon man facing felony charges for assaulting police during Jan. 6 Capitol riots
TAMPA, Fla. - Nearly four years after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, federal authorities are still identifying people who went inside the Capitol building -- and making arrests.
A 46-year-old Brandon man, George Gonzales, is being accused of breaking a window and assaulting police.
President-elect Trump has said he plans to pardon his supporters who were involved in Jan. 6 on his first day back in office.
George Gonzales smashing a window at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
As for how many and which ones, political experts say that remains to be seen, but say Trump pardoning all involved – even those who pleaded guilty – could be a likely possibility.
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In photos from court records, prosecutors say Gonzales can be seen at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
George Gonzales outside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Court records show Gonzalez was pictured at the Capitol.
According to the DOJ, pictures appear to show Gonzalez shattering a window and then climbing through the window frame to enter the building.
"What the government has done over the last four years is they've scoured the Internet. They looked at every piece of evidence," said Attorney Anthony Rickman. "They've used facial recognition, outside sourcing, common sourcing, such as social media, to identify these individuals."
Court documents from the DOJ show photos of the moment prosecutors say Gonzalez tried to forcibly breach the police line by charging toward the police, but two USCP officers intercepted him.
That's when the DOJ says Gonzalez charged officers a second time with rioters and overwhelmed the police line.
George Gonzales assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
For the next several minutes, prosecutors say these photos show him walking through different parts of the Capitol before leaving through the Upper House Door. They say he was inside for a total of 42 minutes.
"Based on what the President-elect has said on his first day in office, we will have a large number of pardons. Many, if not all, will, in fact, be pardoned. The President-elect has said there may be some exceptions. Those exceptions, though, may be few and far between," said FOX 13 News’ Political Editor Craig Patrick.
In the almost four years since Jan. 6, the feds have charged more than 1,500 people, including 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
The DOJ says the investigation is ongoing. It remains to be seen whether it will continue once Trump takes office.
"If he follows through on what he has said he would do and is inclined to do, you may not see significant political fallout, in other words, changes in his approval ratings because a lot of that would be baked into the election results themselves," Patrick said.
Gonzalez's first FBI interview was in May. They said he couldn't recall being at the Capitol and that he had other business in DC at the time.
According to investigators, he agreed that the photos of him at the Capitol looked like him but insisted they did not.
He's being charged with felony assault on a police officer and felony destruction of government property, among other charges.
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