Two more Sacramento-area men charged in connection with Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol

Two more Sacramento-area men have been arrested and charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riot, including one tracked down by the FBI after he allegedly bragged to passengers on a plane that he was in the “second wave” of protesters who breached the U.S. Capitol building that day.

Kyle Travis Colton and Patrick Woehl, both Citrus Heights residents, were arrested last week following the filing of criminal complaints in federal court in Washington, D.C., charging them in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Both men made appearances separately in federal court in Sacramento and were released from custody pending the outcome of their cases.

Colton did not respond to a request for comment left with his mother Monday; Woehl could not be reached.

Colton was arrested Friday in Folsom after being charged in Washington with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, entering or remaining in a restricted building without authority, disorderly conduct in a restricted building and on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

Capitol videos show one suspect defying police

Court documents say video footage from inside the Capitol shows Colton “not obeying orders by the officers to leave the Rotunda and Colton standing in line with rioters as these other rioters had confrontations with the officers.”

“These officers had initiated crowd clearing measures to include forming a police line, giving loud verbal commands, and using batons to move persons towards the exit door,” an affidavit filed in court says. “Colton only moved when the crowd was physically pushed towards the exit.

“Furthermore, Colton remained standing side-by-side with these other rioters who were combating law enforcement officers. At one point, Colton grabbed a flagpole that was being used by a rioter to assault (Metropolitan Police Department) Officer K.D.

“Colton gained control of the flagpole, which Officer K.D. had also grabbed, and then gave it back to this rioter, who then fled into the crowd of rioters with the flagpole.”

Tipster: Colton showed photos to airline passenger

The FBI began investigating Colton shortly after the riot based on a tip received from a passenger on a Jan. 7, 2021, Delta Airlines flight from Washington to Los Angeles, court records say.

That tipster told agents that a passenger seated in seat 13D “had told other passengers seated on the flight that he was a part of the ‘second wave’ of rioters in the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021,” court records say.

The FBI confirmed that Colton had purchased an airline ticket Jan. 2, 2021, to travel to Washington on Jan. 5 and return on Jan. 7, court records say, and agents interviewed two other passengers on the flight who were identified only by the names “Witness 1” and “Witness 2.”

“These interviews revealed that Colton discussed with Witness 1 and Witness 2, who were sitting near Colton on the flight, entering the United States Capitol Building in the ‘second wave,’” court records say. “Colton also showed Witness 2 pictures from the rally at the Ellipse and a video depicting other rioters pushing and struggling with law enforcement taken from inside of the U.S. Capitol building.”

The FBI also discovered photos from inside the Capitol during the search of a cellphone belonging to a New York resident who was present Jan. 6 at the Capitol but was not charged.

That phone had photos texted to the individual from a cellphone linked to Colton’s address, court records say, accompanied by the message, “Check out my photos from inside the capitol.”

The FBI’s investigation also included surveillance of Colton’s home in November and an FBI agent’s determination that “based on that surveillance” Colton matches photos of a man taken from inside the Capitol, court records say.

Colton made a brief appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes, who agreed to his release and ordered him to appear for a video court hearing from Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21.

Second suspect tracked through cellphone records

Woehl was arrested Wednesday in Citrus Heights and was ordered released on his own recognizance Thursday.

He is charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in Capitol buildings, court records say.

The FBI tracked Woehl down as a suspect through cellphone records, according to court records.

“Since January 6, 2021, the FBI has been investigating and identifying those who were inside of the Capitol without authority and disrupted the proceedings,” court records say. “During that investigation, and pursuant to legal process, the FBI learned that a device associated with a particular telephone number ending in 3318 (the subject telephone number) was present near or inside of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Legal process to Comcast identified the subscriber of the subject telephone number as Patrick Woehl and identified his residence at a specific address in Citrus Heights.”

Video footage from the Capitol shows Woehl entering and exiting the Capitol through the Senate Wing doors on Jan. 6 as alarms were ringing, court records say.

‘He did not hurt anyone,’ suspect says

An affidavit says FBI agents interviewed Woehl in the parking lot of his workplace on June 12, 2022, for about 10 minutes.

“Woehl stated that he did not hurt anyone or break anything in the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” court records say. “He claimed he only went in the Capitol because police deployed smoke bombs behind him and the only way to avoid the smoke was to go inside the building.

“Woehl said he did not have additional time to talk to agents that day but would meet with agents the following day.”

The next day, however, Woehl told an agent who called him that he wanted to consult a lawyer, court records say.

“Woehl reiterated that he did not hurt anyone or vandalize or break windows,” court records say. “Woehl claimed that he did nothing wrong.”

Four other Sacramento-area defendants already have been sentenced

The two are among the more than 1,237 defendants charged nationwide in the Capitol riot, including four others from the Sacramento area who have already been sentenced.

Sean Michael McHugh, an Auburn construction worker, was sentenced in September to 78 months for his role in the riots and for using bear spray on Capitol police.

Valerie Elaine Ehrke of Arbuckle received probation.

Tommy Frederick Allan of Rocklin is serving a 21-month sentence at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.

And former Sacramento Republican activist Jorge Aaron Riley, who was among the first to enter the Capitol that day, was sentenced in September to 18 months in prison.