MAGA rioter arrested for early attack on cops at Peace Circle that allegedly unleashed the mob

A Texas man was arrested Monday for assaulting and injuring police officers as they were trying to guard the Capitol perimeter at the outset of the January 6 riot.

Jason Blythe, 26, of Fort Worth, Texas, was added to an existing indictment of four others for the early violence at the area outside the Capitol known as Peace Circle. The FBI alleges that as early as 12:50 p.m. -- as Donald Trump was finishing his incitement speech -- a group of MAGA rioters confronted the officers at Peace Circle.

“As alleged in the indictment, Blythe participated in attacks in which a metal crowd control barrier was used against two officers from the U.S. Capitol Police, including one who sustained bodily injury,” a Department of Justice release stated. “According to the government’s evidence, the assault took place at the Peace Circle, where law enforcement was attempting to secure the restricted perimeter of the Capitol grounds.”

“The indictment, unsealed today, also includes four defendants previously charged in the case: James Tate Grant, 29, of Hot Springs, North Carolina; Paul Russell Johnson, 36, of Lenexa, Virginia; Stephen Chase Randolph, 32, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and Ryan Samsel, 38, of Levittown, Pennsylvania. All four of those defendants previously pleaded not guilty.”

According to a tweet Monday by Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly, public records show that Blythe has a public defender and was released on home detention.

You can view the indictment here.