Auburn man pleads guilty to charges in Jan. 6 breach of US Capitol
An Auburn man pleaded guilty in District of Columbia court last week to assaulting a law enforcement officer during the deadly Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Shane Jason Woods, 44, known as Shane Castleman, also pleaded guilty to a related federal assault charge on a member of the news media.
Woods will be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2023.
According to court documents, Woods knocked a female U.S. Capitol officer off her feet, sending her crashing into a downed bicycle barricade. The officer had earlier been sprayed with a chemical irritant and was pursuing the individual when Woods lowered his shoulder and rammed into her.
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Several hours later, Woods gathered with other rioters in the media staging area on the northeast side of the Capitol. Woods walked around some of the piled media equipment that had been and was in the process of being destroyed by other rioters, and he tossed some of it himself. At the same time, a member of the news media attempted to walk away to protect himself and his camera. Woods took a running start and hit the man with a blindside shoulder tackle, knocking him to the ground and causing him to drop the camera.
Woods was the first person charged in connection with an assault on members of news media during the breach.
According to the original complaint, investigators showed that Woods, who owned Auburn Heating & Air Conditioning, made several calls from a cellphone to Washington, D.C. area businesses. They tracked several charges made to his business' checking account around Washington between Jan. 5 and 7, according to the complaint.
The Jan. 6 violence in Washington left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Supporters of then-president Donald Trump attempted to disrupt a joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 6 election.
Trump repeated false claims of election "irregularities" at a rally earlier on Jan. 6.
Photos in the complaint show Woods driving to Washington, D.C. arriving on Jan. 5.
Woods was arrested June 24, 2021, in Springfield. He faces up to eight years in prison for the officer assault, plus possible financial penalties.
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Thomas B. Adams, Jr. and Roy Nelson Franklin, both of Springfield, face charges of entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstructing an official proceeding.
The identities of Adams and Franklin first came to light when they were interviewed by Abigail Higgins of the news site Insider. Adams told Higgins they had driven from Springfield for a rally for Trump.
Both are out on their own recognizance. No further court dates have been set.
More than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach. Woods is among more than 30 Illinois residents charged.
The criminal cases brought in connection with the breach are being tried in federal District Court in Washington, D.C.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Auburn man pleads guilty to assaulting US Capitol officer on Jan. 6
