A MAGA fan accused of "ramming" police officers with a giant, metal "TRUMP" sign during the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 has been arrested in South Dakota, according to court records and an NBC News report.
"William George Knight faces more than a half-dozen charges in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including felony charges of assault on a federal officer and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder," reported Ryan J. Reilly.
Knight was apprehended as a suspect due to the online detective work of the "sedition hunters," a loose-knit collective that has helped track down hundreds of people to assist the FBI, according to the report.
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Footage from these amateur investigators showed "the man identified as Knight was one of the first people to breach the initial barriers at the Capitol and shows him ripping away police barricades as the mob confronted officers," the report continued.
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"Video shows the same man aggressively confronting law enforcement, at one point rushing towards the police line with an extended flag pole and then smashing it on the concrete in front of officers. That man was initially dubbed 'Dreaded Proud Boy' by online sleuths due to his hairstyle and proximity to members of the far-right organization during the initial breach of the Capitol grounds, but federal prosecutors did not present any evidence to connect Knight to the organization."
"We ain't leaving! We ain't going nowhere!" Knight yelled at officers, the FBI's reports say. "Here are the b----es. Here are the b----es."
As of May 2024, almost 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the January 6 insurrection, with over 1,000 convicted or pleading guilty.
These charges range from misdemeanors like unlawful picketing and trespassing, to assaulting police officers, and the leaders of groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been convicted of seditious conspiracy.
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