COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two Ohio men have become the latest people to be charged in connection to the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S Capitol after being identified by family and acquaintances to the FBI, according to U.S. District Court documents.
39-year-old Derek Jancart and 21-year-old Alexander Sheppard, both from Columbus, join the eight other Ohioans accused of accompanying a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump as they smashed their way into the U.S. Capitol.
According to court documents, someone tipped off the FBI that Jancart posted on Facebook that he was inside the Capitol. Jancart was also captured on body-worn camera from the Metropolitan Police Department inside the building. Another tipster contacted the FBI and provided text messages with Jancart, who confirmed he was inside the Capitol, according to court records.
Investigators said they also found photos showing Sheppard in D.C. and in the Capitol on that day. A video shows Sheppard in the Capitol and running to the entrance of the Speaker's Lobby where he yelled in the direction of officers guarding the doors, according to court documents.
An FBI agent said an interview was attempted with Sheppard on Jan. 19 at his home but he declined saying he wanted an attorney.
According to court records, Sheppard did admit to the agent he drove from Powell to D.C. to protest the election.
An FBI agent identified Sheppard in the photos by talking with the tipster and by comparing them to Sheppard's driver's license photo.
Sheppard and Jancart are facing several federal charges, including violently entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, according to a complaint.
Sheppard also faces one count of obstructing justice and Congress in their work that day to certify the 2020 election results.
Asked Wednesday about the apparently significant role of some Ohioans in the Capitol riots, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio and the ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the investigation’s focus has been on problems in the preparation and response to the Capitol riots, and that it will hear next week from the FBI and Justice Department.
“I’m sure that issue will come up,” Portman said. “But we also want to avoid this happening in the future and that’s the purpose really of the investigation.”
Five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, died in the Jan. 6 assault. Federal court documents did not list an attorney for either man.
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Editor's Note: The below story aired on January 14, 2021