First insurrectionist arrested for attacks on the media as total charged crosses 500

An Illinois man was arrested this Thursday for his alleged participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Shane Jason Woods, 43, of Auburn, is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer; assault in special maritime and territorial jurisdiction; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds -- all federal crimes.

Court documents say that Woods tripped a Capitol police officer and pushed her to the ground after she tried to chase another rioter who sprayed her with bear mace.

Woods also attacked members on the news media on that day, according to the DOJ's press release.

"As depicted in several publicly posted videos and images, Woods gathered in the vicinity of the media staging area around 5 p.m. where several protestors were yelling and spitting at members of the news media near a pushed-over fence next to the staging area. Moments later, Woods climbed over the toppled fence and participated in the assault on the media equipment," the DOJ's statement reads. "Woods can be seen walking around the piled media equipment, as well as picking up and tossing some of it. He was also observed walking closely around a cameraman. As depicted in publicly available video, Woods then ran into and tackled the cameraman, causing him to fall and drop his camera."

Also on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Justice Department had crossed two major milestones in their investigation into the Capitol breach.

""We have now crossed the threshold of 500 arrests, including the 100th arrest of a defendant on charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. This morning, we arrested our first defendant on charges that include assaulting a member of the news media," Garland said. "Our efforts to bring criminal charges are not possible without the continued assistance of the American public. To date, we have received their more than 200,000 digital tips. I assure the American people that the Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts in this case and charge what the evidence supports to hold all January 6th perpetrators accountable."