San Antonio man charged with taking part in Jan. 6 riot

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports a 26-year-old San Antonio man has been arrested and charged with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Steven Hassel, 26, allegedly helped rip apart a barricade on the Capitol grounds, allowing a crowd of rioters to overwhelm police and surge toward and ultimately into the building. The breach by supporters of former President Donald Trump disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election and affirm Joe Biden’s victory. FBI agents arrested Hassel in San Antonio on Tuesday. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., where the charges were filed.

Hassel is charged with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, which is a felony, and four misdemeanor offenses: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Hassel was among a crowd of rioters on the East Plaza of the Capitol, near a row of bike racks that police were using as crowd control barriers, according to court documents. He allegedly grabbed one of the barriers, leaned back and pulled on it several times as police officers tried unsuccessfully to keep the barricade intact. After the barrier was breached, police formed a new line on the east steps of the Capitol. Hassel allegedly approached the new police line and waved other rioters behind him to advance on the Capitol. The crowd again overcame police and surged toward the doors of the Rotunda. Hassel stood with the crowd as it chanted and tried to enter the building, court documents say.