Elizabethtown man accused of participating in U.S. Capitol riot

Published 11:30 am Thursday, July 13, 2023

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The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday a Kentucky man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

William Stover, 46, of Elizabethtown, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony civil disorder.  He also faces misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings.

According to court documents, Stover was identified on closed-circuit television and police body-worn camera footage at the U.S. Capitol building and grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.  In this footage, it is alleged that Stover pushed against a police line and aided other rioters in fighting against police officers near an entrance to the Capitol building at the lower west terrace tunnel.

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Stover arrived at the tunnel entrance around 3:15 and joined with others in a push against the police line.  He and other rioters were eventually expelled from the tunnel entrance by police, but he and others returned to again push against police at the tunnel entrance.

The Justice Department alleges Stover grabbed onto the side of the tunnel entrance in an effort to leverage his weight and to push against police.  Stover then grabbed ahold of the side of the tunnel, hoisted himself up, and reached over the heads of the other rioters to grab the helmet of the nearest police officer.

A short while later, Stover received a U.S. Capitol Police riot shield which he then handed to another rioter who climbed up behind him. That rioter took the shield from Stover and used it to attack police. Stover remained at the entrance to the tunnel as the rioters fought police for 20 more minutes, until he was pushed away from the mouth of the tunnel by the crowd.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Louisville and Washington Field Offices and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Since Jan. 6, 2021, there have been more than 1,000 arrests related to the Capitol breach, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.