Potter County man arrested on charges in connection to Jan. 6 riot
GENESSEE, Pa. (WETM) – A Potter County man has been arrested on charges in connection to the incident that took place at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Kim Eugene Decker II, 42, of Genesee, Pennsylvania, has been charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia for felony and misdemeanor offenses.
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Decker was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Genesee and made an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
His charges stem from allegations made in court documents stating that he was identified in open-source images and video footage on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, before the breach of the bike rack barrier that surrounds the restricted area of the Capitol grounds. He is seen wearing a white hat and black jacket and carrying two flags on flag poles.
Decker was also pictured in a mass of rioters that made several attempts to break the police line and bike rack barrier, according to the documents. He was seen leaning and pushing against the barrier and eventually pushing past it, pushing the bike racks and Capitol Police out of the way. He was one of the first to go through the barrier.
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Court documents state that Decker ignored attempts made by Capitol Police to stop him from moving toward the Capitol building, making his way to the steps with other rioters.
The documents allege that the group then advanced to the building, where footage from inside the Capitol building showed Decker and others coming through the Rotunda Doors on the east side.
Decker then allegedly moved throughout the building, stopping to take pictures and videos while he was there. He left the building close to 3 p.m. through the Columbus Doors.
The actions of Decker and other rioters disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress gathered to determine and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Decker has been charged with civil disorder, a felony, as well as entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct in Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, all misdemeanors.
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The 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, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The FBI’s Philadelphia, Williamsport Resident Agency and Washington Field Offices are investigating this case with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Since the incident that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 people have been charged in almost all 50 states for crimes in connection to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 469 of these individuals were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.
The investigation into the incident continues.
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