The Department of Justice on Thursday charged two brothers for allegedly assaulting a New York Times photographer inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
David Walker, 49, of Delran New Jersey, and Philip Walker, 52, of Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania, are also charged with stealing a camera from the photographer.
Philip Walker told investigators that he tossed a camera into a body of water on his way home from Washington, D.C., according to an FBI agent's affidavit.
New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha told the Associated Press that the affidavit refers to staff photographer Erin Schaff, who wrote about her experience at the Capitol.
"We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI for their persistence in pursuing justice in this case," Rhodes Ha said in a statement. "Independent, fact-based journalism is a cornerstone of democracy and attacks against reporters should be a grave concern to anyone who cares about an informed citizenry."
Schaff in her essay detailed the alleged assault.
"Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry," Schaff wrote. "They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched.
"At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them," the photographer said. "They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.