Ex-National Guardsman wanted on Jan. 6 charges surrenders after FBI manhunt
A former New Jersey National Guard police sergeant accused of pepper-spraying officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack turned himself in to authorities in New Jersey on Friday following a 48-hour manhunt.
Gregory Yetman faces several charges, including felonies such as assaulting officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as some misdemeanor offenses, according to the FBI. Yetman was taken into custody after the FBI on Thursday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Amy Thoreson, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Newark office, said that he turned himself in to the Monroe Township Police on Friday morning without incident, adding: “We want to thank the public for all the tips and calls we received.”
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that Yetman was dirty and unkept when he turned himself in, and that he declined medical attention. Registered weapons were found at his home, the official said. They believe he may have had a plan to flee, since he had previously been questioned about the Jan. 6 attack.
Yetman had fled into a wooded area with railroad tracks near his home in the township of Helmetta on Wednesday, before he surrendered himself to authorities in the area.
Jan. 6 suspects have typically been allowed pretrial release, except in circumstances where authorities had evidence that they posed a threat to the public or were a flight risk.
Because Yetman fled, it is likely that prosecutors will seek pretrial detention, although there were no court filings regarding his case as of Friday morning. Courts were closed for a federal holiday, and Yetman is expected to make his first court appearance in New Jersey on Monday.
Yetman was identified in early 2022 by online sleuths who go by the name “Sedition Hunters,” a group that has aided in the arrests of hundreds of Capitol rioters.
The online sleuths said Yetman was seen unloading a canister of a chemical weapon from behind a police line as officers came under attack on Jan. 6, 2021. That image of Yetman was featured in a wanted poster released by the FBI on Thursday, before he surrendered.
The #FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Gregory Yetman, who allegedly assaulted police officers at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Call 1-800-225-5324 or visit https://t.co/t8G7LO4hxu to submit a tip. https://t.co/FpLntxfBne pic.twitter.com/hZDPPozgOe
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) November 10, 2023
About 1,200 defendants have been arrested in connection with the Capitol attack, and another roughly 1,000 suspects have been identified but not yet arrested.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
