Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendant Assaulted Police on West Terrace and in Tunnel with Baton and Thrown Objects
WASHINGTON — An Indiana man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His 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.
Curtis Logan Tate, 32, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, and destruction of government property. In addition to the felonies, Tate is charged with several 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, disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings, and engaging in an act of physical violence in the grounds or any of the Capitol buildings.
Tate was arrested on Aug. 24, 2023, by the FBI in Wilmington, North Carolina, and will make his initial appearance in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Tate attended a rally in Washington, D.C., and afterward made his way toward the U.S. Capitol building. A review of open-source video, body- worn camera footage, and closed-circuit video showed Tate present at various locations in Washington, D.C., and in the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol grounds, including in the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
At approximately 2:05 p.m., Tate is seen in body-worn camera videos from Metropolitan Police Department Officers (MPD) near the Lower West Terrace as he used a metal baton to strike an MPD officer in the hand. In response, an MPD officer sprayed Tate with pepper spray and can be heard warning another officer that Tate was wielding a baton. Tate later uploaded a video to a social media site depicting himself near the Lower West Terrace holding a metal baton, which appears to be the same baton used to strike the MPD officer, with the caption: “POST 1ST MACING.” During the video, Tate yelled, “We’re tearing this motherfucker down!”
At approximately 2:43 p.m., Tate was outside the entrance to the Lower West Terrace tunnel. He arrived minutes after the area was first breached and entered the tunnel closely behind the initial group of rioters. Tate is later seen on Capitol CCTV footage inside the tunnel holding his cell phone above his head, consistent with using the phone to record video. At about 2:57 p.m., Tate is shown inside the tunnel brandishing the metal baton above his head and charging towards the line of police officers protecting the entrance to the Capitol building. Tate then repeatedly struck a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer in the helmet with the metal baton. In response, a USCP officer pepper sprayed Tate, and he retreated.
Later, at about 4:28 p.m., Tate is seen on publicly available video throwing a black speaker box and breaking a window located to the left of the tunnel entrance. Tate then threw a black speaker box and a shoe at police officers protecting the entrance to the tunnel. The speaker box and shoe struck MPD officers. Shortly after the above assaults, Tate is shown in publicly available video receiving a broken table leg with a protruding screw through a broken window in the Capitol building. The window was the same window damaged by Tate earlier with the speaker box and now was completely broken as a result of damage caused by Tate and others.
Tate is shown in multiple publicly available videos and photographs taken by a photojournalist, navigating through the crowd and carrying the broken table leg toward the entrance to the tunnel. At approximately 4:34 p.m., Tate is shown in publicly available video throwing the broken table leg at police officers who were protecting the tunnel entrance.
Later, at approximately 4:38 p.m., Tate is shown in publicly available video assisting others carry a piece of lumber toward the entrance to the tunnel, and, at about 5:01 p.m., Tate is shown in multiple publicly available videos throwing a floor lamp at police officers near the tunnel.
Tate later gave an interview to a media outlet, in which he stated, “I would never hurt an officer. I come from a military background. I’m very respectful of our military and police… I know I didn’t hurt anybody… I’m not speaking here bold as brass, because you never know what can happen…but I’ve never, ever once hurt, or put my hands on an officer… I never did it. So, I’m not going to live the rest of my life in fear.”
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 Southern District of Indiana, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis and Washington Field Offices, which identified Tate as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #119 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance provided by FBI Charlotte, 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.
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.