Iowa man charged in Capitol riot repeatedly fought police

Investigators say a combination of anonymous tips and cell phone data helped identify the last Iowa resident to face charges in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including for allegedly assaulting several police officers.

Federal prosecutors announced charges earlier this month against Earl Jordan of Dickens in northwest Iowa and his brother Christopher Jordan of Utah. The two are charged with assaulting or impeding officers, civil disorder, entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct.

How were the Jordan brothers identified?

Earl Jordan is the ninth Iowan charged in the Capitol riot, and his arrest is the first of an Iowan to be announced in more than two years. Federal prosecutors have continued to bring charges in the nearly four years since the attack as suspects have been identified. Earlier this month, they said they had charged more than 1,500 people.

According to a statement of facts initially sealed by the court, the FBI first identified Christopher Jordan based on a tip and confirmed his identity by interviewing people who knew him and analyzing video footage of the attack.

Earl Jordan was separately identified as a suspect through a search warrant served on Google to obtain geolocation data from the Capitol grounds. Investigators located a device on the ground using a Google email address associated with three phone numbers, one of which belonged to someone who lived at Jordan’s address. Combining that with a tip that Jordan had been present at the Capitol, the FBI reportedly surveilled him and confirmed that he was the person seen in several videos and photos of the attack.

What did Earl Jordan supposedly do?

According to the FBI, the Jordans were together on the west front of the Capitol during the riot, during which a group of officers from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department attempted to move through the crowd to reinforce a police line. Earl Jordan was caught on video elbowing an officer as he brushed past him, then “lunged” toward him and “slammed his hand into (the officer’s) face,” the FBI said.

Other officers tried to intervene, but Jordan allegedly lunged again, “grabbing (the officer’s) throat” and shoving him. Christopher Jordan also became involved in the melee, and video footage shows the two fighting with police and blocking their progress through the crowd. At one point, Christopher Jordan allegedly grabbed an officer’s baton and refused to let go. The two disconnected only after another rioter pulled him away from officers, investigators said.

The brothers can later be seen in the crowd. fighting with officers who were trying to secure one of the doors of the Capitol. When officers closed the door, Earl Jordan “picked up a piece of metal fencing and threw it” toward the door, according to the FBI.

The two allegedly remained on the Capitol grounds until that night, when officers finally regained control of the scene.

Court records show Earl Jordan has been released on his own recognizance, and the brothers are scheduled to be arraigned in Washington on Nov. 4. Earl Jordan’s attorney did not respond to a message Friday seeking comment.

Where are the other cases from January 6 in Iowa?

Jordan is the first Iowan charged in connection with the riot in more than two years. The other eight Iowa defendants have already been sentenced. However, the case of one of them, Leo Kelly of Cedar Rapids, who received a 30-month sentence, was sent back to court on appeal after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors were interpreting it too broadly. one of the statutes under which Kelly and other rioters were convicted.

kelly is expected to be resentful in the coming months.

October 2022: As the first cases are resolved, some of those charged in the January 6 Iowa riots begin to speak out

Among the other seven, several received long sentences and remain in prison. Kyle Young Redfieldwho pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, will be in prison until 2029, and Salvador Sandoval of Ankenywho also fought with several police officers, will remain locked up until 2028. A third, Doug Jensen of Des Moineswho was convicted of leading a crowd to confront a police officer inside the building, was released to a rehabilitation center earlier this year. Bureau of Prisons records show he was no longer in government custody as of earlier this month.

The remaining Iowa defendants (Deborah Sandoval, Daryl Johnson, Kenny Rader and Chad Heathcote) received shorter sentences and have since been released.

Former President Donald Trump has said that if he is re-elected on November 5, his priority from his first day in office will pardon those convicted of riotswhich aimed to prevent Congress from certifying the election of his 2020 opponent, President Joe Biden, and his current opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

William Morris covers the courts of the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.