A resident of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, Nicholas Waldon Smotherman, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers and other charges connected to the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The incident disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress aimed at certifying the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
Smotherman, aged 41, faces felony charges of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, as stated in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia. Additionally, he is charged with multiple misdemeanors, including unlawfully entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct, engaging in physical violence, and acts of violence within Capitol grounds or buildings.
Latest TN News
The FBI arrested Smotherman in Hermitage, Tennessee, and he will make his initial court appearance in the Middle District of Tennessee.
Court documents indicate that Smotherman was identified among a crowd on the Upper West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Body-worn camera footage from a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer showed Smotherman standing near the bike racks and a police line. The footage captured him advancing toward an MPD officer after rioters pulled the bike rack barricades to the ground. Smotherman allegedly pushed the officer with both hands and attempted to seize the officer’s baton during the altercation. Despite being sprayed with pepper spray, he was later identified in and around the “Tunnel” entrance on the Lower West Terrace, a site of significant violence against law enforcement that day.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. The investigation is ongoing, conducted by the FBI’s Memphis and Washington Field Offices alongside the U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 42 months following January 6, 2021, over 1,470 individuals have been charged across nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach. More than 530 individuals face charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers. The investigation continues.
Anyone with information can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Read Original Release
Nashville Registered Sex Offender Arrested for Attacks
Deontez Drew, a Tennessee registered sex offender, was arrested in Nashville for attacking two women, facing charges including attempted aggravated rape and especially aggravated kidnapping.