Spring Mills man accused of attacking officers with flagpole during U.S. Capitol riot
A Spring Mills man is facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
Terry L. Allen, 64, is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers and faces felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
According to a statement of facts from the DOJ, Allen was identified in footage from Jan. 6 by a member of the public who identified him through publicly available photos and videos. In June 2022, this person also sent the FBI a video from Nov. 14, 2020, in which Allen was carrying what appeared to be the same black Trump flag and tan tactical gloves shown in the footage from the Jan. 6 riot.
Allen was among the crowd of rioters that breached the western perimeter of the U.S. Capitol grounds, the 12-page court filing states. He is seen on the video footage carrying a flag on a wooden flagpole approximately five feet in length.
According to the filing, video footage shows Allen “shoving officers before using his wooden flagpole as a lance to attack officers by driving it into them in a stabbing motion” as well as later “throwing what appears and sounds consistent with a black metallic pole at the officers standing less than ten feet away.”
Others, including a person who has known Allen for more than 10 years, identified him from an image taken on Jan. 6, according to the filing.
In addition to the felony offenses, Allen faces misdemeanor charges of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or on restricted grounds and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. He made his initial appearance Friday in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Allen served two years in the Centre County Correctional Facility after assaulting a State College police officer in 1984. He pleaded guilty to slamming a police officer’s head into the pavement multiple times, the filing noted. In 2011 the FBI received a complaint about Allen because of his possible ownership of a fully automatic machine gun. He was never interviewed.
Allen is the third person with a known connection to Centre County to face charges related to Jan. 6. Julian Khater, the former owner of Frutta Bowls in downtown State College, was sentenced in January to 80 months in prison — one of the longest handed down for any Capitol rioter — for his involvement. Brian Gundersen, who had been living in State College and traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the rally that preceded the riot, was convicted in November of obstructing the vote to certify the electoral college and of striking a police officer. He has not yet been sentenced.
More than 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot since the DOJ began its investigation, which is ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
