North Carolina Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

WASHINGTON - A North Carolina man was arrested today for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers and additional charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His alleged actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Gregory Charles Peck, Jr., 51, of Connelly Springs, N.C., is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with two felony offenses: a charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, and a charge of civil disorder.

In addition to the felonies, Peck is charged with several misdemeanor offenses including: entering and remaining in restricted grounds or buildings; disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds or buildings; engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds or buildings; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

FBI agents arrested Peck today in Connelly Springs, N.C. He made his initial court appearance in the Western District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, Peck entered the restricted Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021, via the West Front. While on the Southwest corner of the West Plaza, Peck used a flagpole with an attached yellow Gadsden Flag to hit a Metropolitan Police Department officer. The alleged assault was captured on a body-worn camera (BWC). At about 2:32 p.m., Peck raised the flag pole with his right hand and lifted it over another rioter's shoulder to hit the officers left arm, while a U.S. Capitol Police officer tried to push the rioters away from the MPD officer. Later, while in the area of the Southwest scaffolding, Peck held a can of some sort of spray in his right hand, using it to spray an officer with an orange substance. The alleged assault was captured in an open-source photograph. Peck made his way deeper into restricted Capitol grounds to the entrance of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. There, Peck grabbed the jacket of another MPD officer as the officer was dragged into the crowd by other rioters who were assaulting him. Peck grabbed the officer's jacket collar from behind and pulled, causing the officer's head to jerk back. Peck continued to hold the officer's collar, and when the officer appeared to have trouble breathing, another rioter shouted, "Let him breathe!" Throughout the alleged assault, captured on video, multiple rioters are heard exclaiming "He can't breathe!" and "Let him go!"

Peck briefly released the officer, but then grabbed him again and continued to hold onto the officer as other rioters tried to push Peck away. The other rioters continued to push Peck and other individuals away from the officer. Ultimately, a couple of rioters pulled the officer through a door that appeared to lead to an elevator built into the Inauguration stage.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

The case is being investigated by the FBI's Charlotte and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the 43 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,488 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 550 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 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 beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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