Las Vegas man accused of spraying fire extinguisher at police on Jan. 6

David Charns
·2 min read
6

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The FBI arrested a Las Vegas man Monday for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, which included spraying a fire extinguisher at police officers, according to federal prosecutors.

Mario Gonzalez, 51, faces several charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, records said.

In February 2023, The FBI was alerted to information about Gonzalez and the associated nickname, “Capitol Fire Drill,” documents said.

Documents showed Gonzalez traveled from Las Vegas to Philadelphia on Jan. 5, 2021. On Jan. 6, Gonzalez then joined other rioters at the U.S. Capitol, documents said.

While at the Capitol, Gonzalez allegedly filmed an altercation with police and “took selfie-style recordings of himself using his cell phone,” documents said.

<em>A still image of Mario Gonzalez from Jan. 6, 2021, from court documents. (United States District Court for the District of Columbia/KLAS)</em>
A still image of Mario Gonzalez from Jan. 6, 2021, from court documents. (United States District Court for the District of Columbia/KLAS)

Gonzalez then obtained a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the direction of police, documents said. Police then sprayed Gonzalez with a chemical, which forced him to drop the device.

Gonzalez is the fifth man from Las Vegas and the sixth from Nevada to face charges related to Jan. 6. Two other men with Las Vegas ties were already serving prison sentences for their roles on Jan. 6.

Ronald “Ronnie” Sandlin, who was living in Las Vegas, began serving a 63-month prison sentence in December 2022. Nathaniel “Nate” DeGrave, also of Las Vegas, started his sentence last summer.

Last March, the FBI arrested Bradley Nelson, a North Las Vegas truck driver, for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and then tweeting about it, saying in part, “I was in the capital [sic]… and all hell broke loose,” documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained said.

Nelson, who the FBI said is a commercial truck driver, drove his truck from southern Nevada to Washington, D.C. in January 2021, and parked it at an inspection station, they said.

In December 2022, Brandon Dillard, 40, the man deemed the “Spider Nazi,” who climbed on the exterior of the U.S. Capitol building and then went inside through a broken window, pleaded guilty.

Last April, a judge sentenced a fifth man, Josiah Kenyon, of Winnemucca, to six years in prison for his involvement. Kenyon attacked officers and caused more than $40,000 in damage.

Gonzalez was due to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., next week.

The FBI has arrested more 1,200 people for crimes related to Jan. 6, the department said. More than 450 people face charges of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. As of Friday, the longest Jan. 6-related sentence a judge has imposed is 14 years for a man who threw a chair at a line of officers. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.

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