Defendants Accused of Assaulting Officers in Lower West Terrace Tunnel
WASHINGTON — A woman and two men have been arrested on charges stemming from their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their 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 presidential election.
Casey Jane Tryon-Castro, 33, of Roanoke, Virginia, was arrested on January 17, 2023, and is charged with the felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, and the misdemeanor offenses of theft of government property, entering or 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 and impeding passage through the capitol grounds or buildings.
Micaiah Joseph, 32 of Triangle, Virginia, was arrested on January 18, 2023, and is charged with the felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, and the misdemeanor offenses of entering or 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 and impeding passage through the capitol grounds or buildings.
Troy Weeks, 37, of Greenville, New York, was arrested on January 10, 2023, and is charged with the felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and the misdemeanor offenses of entering or 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 and impeding passage through the capitol grounds or buildings.
According to court documents, the three defendants were among a mob that illegally engaged in a physical confrontation with law enforcement officers near an entrance to the U.S. Capitol on the Lower West Terrace known as “the tunnel.” The tunnel was the location of one of the most prolonged and dangerous assaults on police on January 6, 2021. For over two and a half hours, law enforcement defended the tunnel against rioters who pushed against them, struck them, stole their riot shields, sprayed them with chemical irritants, and otherwise fought against them to gain access to the U.S. Capitol. The three defendants each participated in the siege against law enforcement at the tunnel including by pushing against officers and assisting other rioters to push against the officers.
Tryon-Castro fought against law enforcement in the tunnel for approximately 30 minutes, from 2:43 p.m. to 3:18 p.m. She entered and exited the tunnel at least three times and pushed her way to the front of the police line. At the front line, Tryon-Castro pushed against police and assisted and directed other rioters in their efforts against police. Additionally, she forcibly pulled a police riot shield out of the hands of an officer and handed it to other rioters.
Joseph, who wore a tricorn-style hat, gas mask and body armor, entered the tunnel at approximately 3:00 p.m. and moved through the crowd toward the police line. Joseph pushed his way to the front of the police line and physically pressed up against police officers. At one-point officers attempted to move rioters, including Joseph, back out of the tunnel and Joseph resisted being moved back by pressing up against officers despite having room behind him to move back. When officers eventually succeeded in getting the rioters, including Joseph, to move back, he remained at the front of the mob and continued to yell at the officers. At the police line, Joseph used a nearby set of doors to leverage his weight while pushing against the police line. As Joseph exited the tunnel at approximately 3:13 p.m., he removed his gas mask and handed it to another rioter in the tunnel.
Weeks entered the tunnel at approximately 3:02 p.m. While in the tunnel, he approached the front line of police officers, who were located behind the first of two sets of doors inside the tunnel. Approximately 20 seconds after reaching the police line, Weeks reached his arm through a broken windowpane of the door and grabbed an officer’s can of oleoresin capsicum (“OC”) spray. Weeks pulled the OC spray out of the officer’s hands before the officer managed to grab it back from Weeks. Weeks then made his way around the doors and closer to the front line of officers where he grabbed the inside of a police riot shield. Weeks was pushed out of the tunnel at approximately 3:05 p.m.
These cases are 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 Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, and the Northern District of New York.
The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Albany Field Office and the Washington Field Office, which identified Tyron-Castro as #60, Joseph as #221, and Weeks as #85 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
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.