Name: Lorain man attacked Capitol police officer during Jan. 6 riots following ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, feds say
Brand: cleveland.com
SKU: cleveland-com-325
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Lorain man attacked Capitol police officer during Jan. 6 riots following ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, feds say

preview

NEW!1,588sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio – Federal authorities arrested a Lorain man Wednesday and accused him of beating a Capitol police officer during the riots Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.Officials charged Clifford Mackrell, 20, with assaulting an officer, entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, obstruction of justice and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 14 years in prison.He appeared in U.S. District Court in Cleveland before Magistrate Judge William Baughman for an initial hearing, and his case was transferred to the District of Columbia. Baughman released Mackrell on a personal bond and restricted his travels to northern Ohio and Washington.Mackrell is one of more than 200 people, including several from Ohio, charged in the rioting at the Capitol. The attack followed a speech by then-President Donald Trump to thousands of supporters seeking to toss aside the results that declared Joseph Biden the winner of the November election.An FBI affidavit says a video of the attack shows a man pushing back barricades and later repeatedly striking a Capitol police officer and grabbing the officer’s gas mask.At the same time, the affidavit says, a member of the crowd sprayed what appeared to be bear spray toward officers. The document says the man tried “to expose the officer to the spray.”After the man struck the officer and grabbed the mask, another officer sought to protect his colleague, the affidavit says, and they were able to knock the attacker down. He later left the area.A person with a camera followed the man and asked him his name and where he was from, according to the affidavit. The man called out and said he was “Cliff” from Ohio.“Whatever it takes for my country,” the man said, according to court documents. “I’m not done. I’m going back in.”The FBI publicly displayed a still image of the video. On Feb. 7, a tipster told the agency that the person in the photo was named Cliff and graduated from Wellington High School in 2018, according to the affidavit. Investigators later seized messages from his Facebook page, which showed various posts from days near the attack on the Capitol.On Jan. 6, the affidavit says, Mackrell wrote: “It is our literal job as Americans to kill the tyrannical government.”In a message the next day, he wrote: “We didn’t destroy people’s lives for no reason. I mean the cops got their ass handed to them, but at the same time we also made sure they were OK.” He later claimed that officers attacked him and struck him 10 to 15 times in the head, according to the document, which quoted a message Mackrell sent to a Facebook follower.Video from journalists and clips circulated through Facebook, Twitter and Parler showed hundreds of protesters force their way into the Capitol the same day both chambers of Congress certified Biden the winner of the November presidential election.The “Stop the Steal” rally, held near the Capitol, saw Trump give a heated speech that criticized Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to interfere with the largely ceremonial certification process. Video captured people chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”Pence and several lawmakers evacuated the House and Senate chambers as insurrectionists ran through the building taking videos and pictures of themselves.During the hearing Wednesday, Mackrell answered Baughman’s questions slowly. He said he worked for a roofing company and could not afford his own attorney. Baughman appointed Brian McGraw for the hearing. Mackrell said his family might hire an attorney for him later.Mackrell, who has family in Wellington, moved to Lorain about two years ago and lives with a relative there, according to interviews and county records.Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!1,588sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio – Federal authorities arrested a Lorain man Wednesday and accused him of beating a Capitol police officer during the riots Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.Officials charged Clifford Mackrell, 20, with assaulting an officer, entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, obstruction of justice and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 14 years in prison.He appeared in U.S. District Court in Cleveland before Magistrate Judge William Baughman for an initial hearing, and his case was...

Lorain man attacked Capitol police officer during Jan. 6 riots following ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, feds say

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS