The FBI has arrested a Marine Corps veteran accused of assaulting two officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and helping rally-goers breach the doors to the congressional building.
Kaleb Dillard, 26, was arrested Tuesday in his hometown of Columbiana, Alabama, on felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers and interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.
Dillard was also charged with six misdemeanors.
He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, according to the Department of Justice's statement.
Citing various reports, the FBI identified Dillard as the man who had been suspected of tossing a Capitol Police officer to the ground..
Dillard also allegedly shoved another officer in the chest during the Capitol unrest.
Sources told NBC News that online sleuths recognized Dillard when surveying the TV footage from that day; and on Tuesday, an unsealed FBI affidavit revealed Dillard's identity had been confirmed through Instagram.
In fact, while recently attaching a screenshot image from Jan. 6 — apparently showing Dillard inside the Capitol that day — an IG user asked Dillard, "Is that you?"
Dillard replied, "Sure is hehe," according to court documents.
Federal authorities subsequently obtained records from Dillard's Instagram account in December 2021, along with that particular IG exchange.
As of 2017, Dillard had served with the Marines as a combat videographer, according to an official military picture that features him speaking with actor Mark Wahlberg.
The House select committee on the Jan. 6 unrest — made up of seven Democrats and two lame-duck Republicans (Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois) — alleges that then-President Donald Trump instigated an "insurrection."
On the contrary, though, there are clips of Trump encouraging his supporters to "peacefully and patriotically" protest outside the Capitol area.
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