WASHINGTON — A former Detroit Lions linebacker has been charged with assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Leander Antwione Williams of Savannah, Georgia, was arrested Thursday in Georgia in connection with the case.
Williams, 31, has been charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
In addition to the felonies, Williams is also charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a 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 a Capitol building, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
Williams went by his middle name, Antwione, during his football career. The Lions drafted Williams in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played in 14 games his rookie season, making three starts in 14 appearances and totaling 27 tackles. That was his lone season in the NFL.
The complaint against Williams, unsealed Thursday, says investigators were able to identify him in part by a red key fob hanging from his belt loop that was also seen in photos of him on social media. Authorities also used his photo on the NFL website and compared it to Jan. 6 footage.
According to court documents, Williams was allegedly among an initial group of rioters that breached the restricted perimeter of Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., near the Peace Monument.
Federal authorities say after pushing through a crowd that had gathered near a line of bike racks, Williams “confronted and overpowered Capitol Police officers stationed at the Pennsylvania Walkway perimeter.”
Once he got past this police line, Williams allegedly moved toward the Capitol’s West Plaza, where police officers were “attempting to form defensive lines against the advancing rioters,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.
As the crowd pushed the officers back toward the Southwest Stairs leading to the West Terrace, additional support arrived from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), which began dispersing rioters off the plaza, the attorney’s office said.
Around 1:13 p.m. as MPD officers were trying to maintain control of the area with metal bike racks, Williams allegedly tried to take one of the racks from an officer, according to the attorney’s office. One minute later as police continued to push the crowd back, he allegedly lunged at an officer, swatting at the officer’s hand as they deployed spray in an attempt to prevent the rioters from advancing.
Despite escalating violence between rioters and police, court documents say that Williams “stayed close to the front lines, often using other rioters as cover to mask his actions,” the attorney’s office said. At around 1:38 p.m., as recorded on body camera footage from an MPD officer, Williams approached the bike rack barricades again. Within a few minutes he allegedly grabbed a barricade with both hands and tried to pull it back from the police line.
In response, MPD officers tried to push him away, but Williams resisted and allegedly struck an officer on the head with a forceful arm motion. Officers eventually managed to push him back down the steps, officials said.
After being repelled, Williams rejoined the rioters. At approximately 2:09 p.m., Williams was again seen allegedly pushing against the bike rack line, attempting to break through the officers' defensive formation, but the line held temporarily, according to the attorney’s office. Less than 20 minutes later, with the bike racks removed, Williams “returned to the officers, allegedly grabbing and shoving two officers—one from the Capitol Police and one from MPD—in another attempt to breach the line.”
Following these confrontations, rioters managed to retake the West Plaza, where Williams joined in chants of "U.S.A.!" while raising his fists, officials said. After briefly treating himself for exposure to the spray used by officers, he moved towards the Lower West Terrace, where he remained for roughly two hours before eventually leaving the Capitol grounds in the evening.
The 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.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta and Washington Field Offices. Williams was identified as AFO (Assault on Federal Officer) #419 on the FBI’s seeking information images.
At least 33 people from Michigan — and more than 1,500 people nationwide — have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 riots, which came as Congress was meeting to formally count electoral votes in the 2020 Presidential Election, which Donald Trump had contested.
Now President-Elect Trump has said that he will pardon anyone jailed for their role in Jan. 6 "if they are innocent."