A graphic and comic book artist who was part of a group of insurrectionists who charged and attacked Capitol police officers on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol was arrested yesterday by the FBI.
Robert Wayne Dennis, 61, of Garland, Texas, was caught on police body cameras fighting with police officers trying to control the violent mob near the stairs to the Upper West Terrace, according to federal court records.
"At approximately 2:51 p.m., Dennis charged the line of officers," the FBI report states. "One officer, identified in court documents as 'Officer J.S.,' attempted to use a baton to push him away. Dennis grabbed another officer's baton and took 'Officer J.S.' to the ground after a violent struggle in which he threw punches at the officer. During the struggle, the baton belonging to 'Officer J.S.' was knocked out of his hands."
The Dallas Morning News reports that "Dennis' Facebook profile says he's a senior restoration artist at Comic Art Restoration Service, which 'provides restoration and reproduction for original comic book art.'
"He studied visual communication at Truman State University and art at Crowder College, according to the Facebook account. A website linked to his Facebook account indicates that Dennis produces advertising graphics and designs such as logos and signage as well as original art and photography.
""My background in the graphic arts, as well as my knowledge of the comic book field, enables me to take a less than desirable piece of original art and transform it… into a product that displays all of the merits that the work was originally intended to present," the website says.
Dennis was charged with the following:
- Assaulting, Resisting or Impeding Certain Officers.
- Civil Disorder.
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds.
- Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds.
- Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds.
- Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings.
The Department of Justice reports that 650 suspects have been arrested from nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the insurrection. That includes more than 190 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing, it says.
