2 brothers accused of attacking officers on Jan. 6
Roger and Reynold Voisine, two brothers from upstate New York, were arrested Thursday and charged with attacking police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Both brothers face felony charges, including civil disorder and assaulting an officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The Voisines had a variety of weapons — including a pipe, a police shield and a table leg studded with nails — at the violent mob, according to prosecutors.
According to a news release from U.S. attorney’s office issued Thursday, the Voisine brothers attended former President Trump’s rally at the Ellipse in front of the White House before leaving and walking to the Capitol in paintball masks.
Both brothers played an “active role” in the violence that day, according to the release. They are also charged with misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
Reynold Voisine was spotted dragging an officer from the Lower West Terrace Tunnel and into a mob of rioters. He stayed in the area and used a handheld radio to communicate while the mob reportedly assaulted officers inside the tunnel, where some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement took place. Then, he allegedly threw a crutch, a blue pole and then a crutch again at the officers. He also used a stolen riot shield to slam into the police line, the release said.
Meanwhile, Roger Voisine had a two-way radio, a tripod and a GoPro camera mounted on a stick on his person in a manner that suggested he was documenting the event. He allegedly threw a pipe at the officers and attempted to drag them into the mob. He also “picked up a wooden table leg with protruding nails, swung it twice at officers and then aggressively threw it at another officer,” according to the news release.
The case is still being investigated by the FBI’s Albany and Washington field offices. More than 1,500 people have been charged since the insurrection for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, according to the Department of Justice. More than 500 have been charged with felony charges of impeding law enforcement or assaulting officers.