Missouri men charged with assaulting police in Jan. 6 riot. One officer’s arm was broken
Two Missouri men have been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, including assaulting officers at the Capitol — one whose wrist was broken.
Jared Luther Owens, 41, of Farmington, Missouri, and Jason William Wallis, 49, of St. Clair, Missouri, were charged Oct. 26 in federal court in Washington, D.C., with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assault on law enforcement with a deadly or dangerous weapon, both felonies.
Owens was arrested on Oct. 27, and Wallis was arrested Oct. 28, according to court records. Farmington is about 70 miles south of St. Louis in St. Francois County, and St. Clair is about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis in Franklin County.
The men also face six misdemeanor offenses, court records show: entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; engaging in physical violence in the Capitol grounds; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in any of the Capitol buildings.
Owens and Walls are the 35th and 36th Missouri residents to be charged in a Capitol breach case.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, the FBI received a tip in April 2021 that Wallis was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. The tip included a screenshot of a text thread between Wallis and his girlfriend. The text said, “We just stormed the capital building and push past police lines in the middle of batons and teargas I’ve got video inside.”
The response: “That’s badass.”
Agents then identified Owens as the person often seen with Wallis on Capitol security video footage, the affidavit said. It said Owens and Wallis attended the “Stop the Steal” rally near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, then walked with other protesters to the Capitol. The men are seen on video chasing and yelling at U.S. Capitol Police officers, the document said.
Another video shows Owens and Wallis walking among the officers outside the Capitol, screaming statements such as “coming up the stairs with you there or not,” the affidavit said. Soon after that, officers formed a barricade with bike racks at the top of stairs on the building’s northeast corner.
“Wallis and Owens were directly at the bike rack barricade,” it said. “An officer used a baton to try to keep the rioters from grabbing and shoving the barricades.”
Wallis grabbed one end of a bike rack and lifted it off the ground, the affidavit said.
“Owens then grabbed onto the barricade, and with Wallis, shoved the barricade into the line of officers,” it said. “The line of officers raised their arms and hands in defense to keep the barricade from striking them in their heads and torsos, but the officers’ hands took the blow as the barricade came to a stop and rested on top of another barricade in front of the officers.”
One officer, identified as K.B. in the affidavit, said she and other officers were struck by barricades that the rioters hurled at them.
“Officer K.B. was hit with a barricade and sustained a fracture to her right hand/wrist and was placed in a hard cast for seven weeks,” the affidavit said. “…Officer K.B. also told the Washington Field Office agent that she and the other officers were sprayed with chemical irritants while they continued to hold the line and perform their duties.”
Wallis and Owens then advanced toward the east front of the Capitol, where Owens led a crowd of rioters in chanting, “Whose House? Our House!” the document said. Wallis and Owens then tried to enter the Capitol on the east side through the Senate Carriage Door.
When officers blocked the entrance, it said, they went to the Capitol’s west side to the Upper West Terrace, where around 2:46 p.m., they entered with other rioters through the Senate Fire Door. Inside, they entered an office across the hall from the Office of the Senate Parliamentarian and looked around for a few minutes, then left and went further into the Capitol.
The men became separated from each other, the document said, and just after 3 p.m. Wallis confronted a line of officers.
“The officers pushed back against Wallis and other rioters, but shortly thereafter, Wallis breached the line of officers and walked further into the U.S. Capitol,” the affidavit said. “Multiple other rioters followed Wallis past the officers down the hallway.”
Around 3:07 p.m., the document said, Wallis returned to the hallway and exited the Capitol through a door on the north side. He was in the Capitol about 21 minutes, it said.
While the men were separated, the document said, Owens assaulted a second officer, this one inside the Capitol. A Capitol Police officer identified as D.T. said after he saw Owens push the other officer up against a wall, he handcuffed Owens.
“During a search of Owens, Officer D.T. found a folding knife in Owens’ right front pocket,” the affidavit said. “Officer D.T. took the knife and put it in Owens backpack. Owens was released from handcuffs and allowed to exit through the Senate Carriage Door.”
He was in the Capitol for about 16 minutes, it said. The document did not say why the officer let Owens go.
Text messages retrieved from Wallis’ phone show he sent a message later on Jan. 6 to someone that said, “[w]e literally broke through police lines And I got inside the capital Building,” according to the affidavit.
On Jan. 7, 2021, it said, Wallis texted a message to another number that said, “[w]e bought old riot police got f------ beat with batons teargas maced and literally fought them so they didn’t let us into s--t;” and “I was on the front lines.”
