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Alabama man charged with assaulting police during Jan. 6 siege

Supporters of President Donald Trump riot against the Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2021, in protest of Trump's loss to President-elect Joe Biden, prompting a lockdown of the Capitol Building. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Authorities have arrested and charged an Alabama man for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol building.

The Justice Department said in a release Tuesday that Christian Matthew Manley, 26, of Birmingham, was arrested in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday and has since been charged with engaging in physical violence in restricted a building, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, among others.

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According to court documents, Manley was captured in video at the Capitol on Jan. 6 among supporters of then-President Donald Trump who were storming the building to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.

Prosecutors said that Manley was recorded on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol at about 2:53 p.m. pepper-spraying law enforcement officers who were defending an entrance to the building.

"He threw the empty pepper spray container at officers a few seconds later, then used a second canister to again spray the officers," the Justice Department said. "He then threw this canister, too, at the officers."

He is also accused of throwing a metal rod at officers.

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The assault on the Capitol resulted in the deaths of five people, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, and more than 140 law enforcement agents were injured.

Since the attack, the authorities have arrested more than 650 people nationwide, 190 of them charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

The FBI continues to ask the public for help to identify those captured in video on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6.

Manley made his initial appearance in an Alaska courtroom on Tuesday with a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.

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