Berks man arrested in U.S. Capitol riot

A Boyertown man has been arrested on charges he assaulted law enforcement by spraying a chemical irritant at police during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

James W. Maryanski, 52, is charged with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon.

In addition to those felony charges, Maryanski is charged with misdemeanor offenses, including entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; obstruct, or impede passage through or within, the grounds or any of the Capitol buildings; and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building.

Maryanski was arrested Friday and was to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Information about that court appearance was not immediately available.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice:

Maryanski was among the rioters who breached police barricades at the Peace Circle Monument at 12:52 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.

The rioters outnumbered and overwhelmed police at the barriers and flooded the Lower West Plaza. The crowd pushed through permanent metal fencing at the West Plaza barricade and made its way to the West Plaza, where rioters confronted and engaged with the police line for the next 1 1/2 hours.

As police tried to hold the line, Maryanski — wearing a black hooded jacket with the words “Break Up Big Tech” written on duct tape on the jacket, blue jeans and brown work boots — approached the police line, grabbed onto a bike rack barrier and appeared to yell at police officers.

Law enforcement lines later began to fall back, and the rioters moved forward. Officers were pushed up against the wall of the Capitol and became trapped between the wall and the mob.

The officers found a temporary staircase that led to the Upper West Plaza and retreated up the narrow staircase.

Before the officers could retreat, Maryanski approached the police line holding a large canister. When he got to the front of the line of rioters, he faced the officers trying to retreat up the stairs and sprayed a chemical irritant at the officers’ faces. The officers retreated, and the rioters, including Maryanski, followed them to the Lower West Terrace.

Maryanski later entered the Capitol through a shattered and pushed-out window. Rioters ransacked the room that Maryanski entered, tearing furniture apart, dumping belongings all over the floor and passing broken furniture out of the window to use as weapons against officers.

Maryanski eventually left the Capitol grounds.

After Jan. 6, he posted on Facebook about his participation in the Capitol riot, stating in one of his comments that it “was a dry run.”

After the riot, the FBI posted photos of the rioters in an attempt to identify them, and investigators received a tip that one of the individuals was Maryanski.

Investigators interviewed one of Maryanski’s relatives and showed that person photos from the riot. That person identified Maryanski in several photos.

In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, officials said, more than 1,100 people have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.