KCK man arrested in Jan. 6 riot after records show his cellphone was inside the Capitol
A Kansas City, Kansas, man was arrested Friday in connection with the Capitol riot, accused of roaming through the building, entering a senator’s office and taking a selfie in front of a bust of Winston Churchill.
Kasey Von Owen Hopkins, 47, is the ninth Kansas resident to be charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
Hopkins faces four misdemeanor counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Records from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation show that a man with the same name and address is a registered sex offender in Kansas. Online court records show the man pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2003, to forcible rape, forcible sodomy, domestic assault and felonious restraint involving a July 25, 2002, incident in St. Louis. He received a seven-year prison sentence.
According to an affidavit from an FBI agent in the Capitol riot case, authorities tracked Hopkins down after a search warrant served on AT&T indicated that his cellphone was inside the Capitol building at the time of the riot.
“Hopkins’ phone was initially located within the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 at approximately 2:54 PM and last located at approximately 3:12 PM,” the affidavit said. “The duration of Hopkins’ electronic device within the U.S. Capitol was approximately eighteen minutes.”
FBI agents contacted Hopkins at his residence on Sept. 14, 2021, the affidavit said. He told them that he had gone to Washington, D.C., for the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally. Afterward, he told agents, he walked to the Capitol building. He said it had already been breached when he arrived.
Hopkins showed agents a cellphone photo that depicted the clothing he was wearing that day, the affidavit said. The photo showed him wearing a red “Trump Train” baseball cap, a gray hooded sweatshirt under a black vest and blue jeans. He told the agents he also had been wearing a blue face covering.
“After the interview, and with the information provided by Hopkins regarding his clothing, agents were able to locate video footage of Hopkins entering the Capitol building on January 6th,” the affidavit said.
Hopkins entered through the fire door near the Senate parliamentarian’s office about 2:54 p.m., it said. He exited the same door at 2:57 p.m., then re-entered the Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door and went into the office of Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, D-Oregon. An image taken from Capitol surveillance video shows him standing in the office next to a protester who is leaning back in a chair with his feet on a desk.
Hopkins also was captured on video walking through the Crypt and recording on his cell phone, the affidavit said. He continued to record as he walked through the building.
“At this point, Hopkins turned around and retraced his path, stopping along the way to take a photo of himself with a bust of Winston Churchill,” the document said. He made his way back to the Senate Wing Door and exited the building at about 3:15 p.m.
A search warrant served on Hopkins’ Facebook profile revealed a photo in a private message on Jan. 6 that showed Hopkins in a large crowd near the Washington Monument, the affidavit said.
Authorities also served a search warrant to Apple Inc., on April 13, 2022, which turned up photos from Hopkins’ account that were taken the day of the riot, the document said. One photo, time-stamped at 11:25 a.m., shows him near the Washington Monument. Another was taken outside the Capitol building at 4:02 p.m.
To date, more than 850 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach, according to the Justice Department. Those include more than 260 who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
