Morgan County man arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers during Capitol breach

MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WBMA) — An Alabama man was arrested Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol last year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

DOJ officials said 48-year-old Bobby Wayne Russell, of Falkville, wascharged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, both felony charges.

Russell was also charged withwith four related misdemeanor offenses. Russell was arrested in Falkville and is making his initial appearance Wednesday in the Northern District of Alabama.

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According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Russell was allegedly among rioters confronting officers at a line of bicycle barricades on the southwest side of the Capitol grounds. Russell resisted police orders to move away.

After he was sprayed by a police officer with a chemical irritant, court documents said Russell grabbed onto a bike rack. The barricade broke apart, and Russell pulled the jacket of a Metropolitan Police Department Officer, causing both to fall at least four steps to the ground.

Later that day, around 4:20 pm, law enforcement officers formed a line and attempted to clear the area near the Senate Wing doors. Russell allegedly refused orders to leave the area and pushed his back and buttocks into the riot shields of several officers. He then turned around to face one officer and reportedly said, “I’m not scared of you and I’m not weak.”

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

You can read the full criminal complaint and Statement of Facts documents below.