Alan William Byerly, Capitol Attack, Washington District of Columbia 2021

WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to two charges stemming from attacks on law enforcement officers and a member of the media during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Alan William Byerly, 55, of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and striking, beating, or wounding an individual on federal grounds.

According to court documents, Byerly previously had purchased a stun gun, which he carried on January 6, 2021, to a rally near the Ellipse, and, later to the Capitol grounds. He illegally entered the grounds and went to the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, joining other rioters.

Byerly watched the group that pulled a journalist from the Associated Press – who was carrying a camera and wearing a helmet-style gas mask and a lanyard with Associated Press lettering – down a flight of stairs leading to the western front of the Capitol. Byerly then grabbed the journalist with both hands and pushed him backwards.

He was arrested on July 7, 2021, in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania. Byerly is set to be sentenced on October 21, 2022. He faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison for assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and one year in prison for striking, beating, or wounding an individual on federal grounds.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and its Allentown Resident Agency and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Byerly as #193 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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