WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A 21-year-old Westport man is facing felony assault charges for allegedly striking law enforcement while illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 breach in 2021.
Benjamin Cohen is charged with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers – both felony charges. He is also facing misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building, and engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
According to court documents, Cohen travel to Washington, D.C. with his mother to attend former President Donald Trump’s speech before marching toward the U.S. Capitol building where Congress was certifying the presidential election.
Video footage from the breach around 2:29 p.m. showed Cohen joining rioters on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds and breaching the police line. He was seen pushing and shoving the police officers multiple with his hands as the crowd surged forward.
In one video, Cohen is purportedly shown standing in the crowd and showing “Our House!”
About 20 minutes later, Cohen is seen in video entering the Lower West Terrance tunnel, joining other riots assembling against a police line there. Together, the grown pushed in a concerted “heave-ho” effort against the police line in the tunnel, court documents claim.
Cohen, who at one point was seen rinsing out his eyes after apparently being sprayed by officers, remained inside the tunnel until about 4 p.m. During that time, he continued to assist combined efforts to push further into the tunnel.
Court documents say Cohen was also photographed inside an office inside the Capitol building, next to a window that had been broken. He was seen leaving the office through the window.
Cohen made his initial appearance in court in Connecticut on Wednesday. He is the ninth person from Connecticut arrested for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.