WASHINGTON (WHTM) — A Mechanicsburg man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting officers at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, 63-year-old Lowell Gates has been charged with felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. The US Attorney’s Office also says that Gates has also been charged with misdemeanors in relation to his alleged involvement in the Capitol breach.
A criminal complaint filed by a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation says Gates was identified as the “#BrownJacketJabber” during the assault. Investigators compared Gates’ driver’s license photograph to images and video captured at the Capitol.
In October 2022 the FBI says they spoke with Gates in Camp Hill where investigators say Gates admitted to being at the Capitol and identified himself in photos from the day. Investigators say Gates described his day as traveling to Washington D.C. and attending part of President Donald Trump’s speech at the Ellipse before walking to the Capitol.
Court documents filed in Washington D.C. alleges video showed “Gates approach a group of officers and use a flagpole to assault them” and “raised his flag pole like a spear and lunged at the officers, striking at them three times.”
Court documents say Gates can also be seen on body-worn camera footage throwing an object at a group of law enforcement officers,
Gates told investigators he observed rioters pushing and shooting between rioters and police and that he was struck by a rubber ball and chemical spray, but “insisted he did not take any actions in retaliation for being sprayed or struck by her rubber object.”
According to the complaint, Gates told investigators he “generally had a lot of fun” and left the Capitol after being there for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
Gates was arrested in Harrisburg on August 7 and will make his initial appearance in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
