Maryland father, stepson duo charged with assaulting police in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
BALTIMORE -- A Harford County man and his stepson have been charged with assaulting officers in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington, D.C. last year, the U.S. Attorney's Office of D.C. announced Tuesday.
Douglass Wyatt, 49, and 25-year-old Jacob Therres of Fallston were arrested Monday. They are charged with two felonies: assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, and interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder. The duo also faces five related misdemeanor charges.
Both are accused of using a "chemical spray" multiple times against officers on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol.
Wyatt allegedly handed Therres a "long, heavy plank," who used it to strike an officer in the head, officials said. The officer struck in the head "has experienced lingering medical effects from the blow to the head," according to a statement by prosecutors.
Wyatt was identified as #277 and Therres as #180 on the FBI's seeking information photos in the attack.
WJZ learned that sealed court documents revealed Tuesday by federal prosecutors show five tipsters reached out to the FBI the week following January 6, alerting them to Douglas Wyatt's social media posts.
One of the tipsters refers to themselves as Wyatt's 'former Facebook friend.'"
The Fallston man wrote, "What a day. Lots of pepper spray and a few rubber bullets. Stop the steal!"
Video footage shows both Wyatt and Therres spraying officers with a chemical spray.
He's also shown on body-camera video shouting about the "fraudulent (bleeping) election".
Investigators cited a video of Wyatt handing Therres a wood plank, which he then throws at officers, hitting one in the head, who prosecutors say still has lingering medical issues as a result.
State court records show Therres has a history of assault, protective order violations and a theft conviction for which he was on probation January 6.
His probation officers helped the FBI identify him in November.
Both men are facing a pair of felony charges related to assaulting officers.
Therres is still in jail and has a hearing Monday. The court released Wyatt who did not answer at his Fallston home Wednesday.
Nearly 900 people have been arrested so far for January 6 related crimes and the FBI continues to search for more people involved.
The two men join a list of at least 10 Capitol Breach suspects arrested in Maryland, according to the Department of Justice, including Baltimore's Narayana Rheiner, who, this month, pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement that day.
The two men have a preliminary hearing scheduled for November 29.
