Warren County man's arrest means more than 1,000 have been charged in U.S. Capitol attack

Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
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A Warren County man who was arrested Monday in connection with the attack two and a half years ago on the U.S. Capitol is among more than 1,000 people who have been charged.

Dean Harshman, 36, faces a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding as well as several misdemeanors, including disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

According to court documents: Harshman, of Waynesville, traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and then walked to the Capitol building.

Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Harshman used his cellphone to videorecord many of his actions that day. In one video, according to the documents, as rioters advanced past security barriers toward the Capitol, Harshman can be heard shouting:

“This is the stuff they ain’t gonna show you on TV!” and “We’re taking our house back!”

Harshman then proceeded to the upper west plaza, where he stood near a line of police officers and talked with other rioters about “the need to push past officers,” an official with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force said in a criminal complaint.

Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Video shows police deploying pepper balls into the crowd.

Harshman eventually entered the Capitol through a door that had been forced open, the complaint says, and walked through the building. During the roughly 15 minutes he was in the building, he videorecorded the inside of an office, the complaint says.

Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others inside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Photo obtained by the FBI shows Dean Harshman and others inside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Harshman appeared Monday before a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati and was released on his own recognizance, records show. On Aug. 10, he is scheduled to appear by videoconference before a judge in federal court in Washington, D.C. That’s where his case will be handled.

His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials say at least 1,070 people from across the country have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack. Nearly 700 have been convicted of various charges, most through guilty pleas.

The investigation is continuing.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Warren County man charged in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack