SC man indicted on new felony charges of assaulting police in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A South Carolina man already facing federal criminal charges in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol has been indicted for assaulting an officer and other charges during that event, according to a new indictment announced late Friday by the Department of Justice.

George Amos Tenney III, 35, of Anderson, was indicted on three felony charges — assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; civil disorder; and obstructing an official proceeding. He was charged with six misdemeanors as well, the department announced..

Tenney was originally arrested on a federal complaint in June alleging many of the same offenses.

An indictment formalizes the charges against a defendant and is often an indication that a trial might be in the offing.

“We cannot take a defendant to trial on a complaint, and an indictment is a step towards having a trial,” a Justice Department official said Friday night.

A press release from the department Friday night said Tenney wrote on Facebook before Jan. 6, “It’s starting to look like we may siege the capital building [sic] and [C]ongress if the electoral votes don’t go right. We are forming plans for every scenario.”

Tenney and another man “were captured on video as they moved through the U.S. Capitol together on Jan 6, entering by approximately 2:19 p.m. through the Senate Wing Door,” the press release said.

The two men “eventually made their way to the East Rotunda Doors. While there, Tenney sought to force open the doors from inside, despite police efforts to keep them closed, and helped rioters amassed outside get into the building.

“He (Tenney) also grabbed an employee of the House Sergeant at Arms, locked arms with a U.S. Capitol Police officer, and pushed another Capitol Police officer,” the press release said.

Court records in the case say federal law enforcement officials have evidence against Tenney that includes his social posts, phone GPS records, surveillance and news videos and photos taken in the Capitol during the riot, and interviews with Capitol law officers.

No lawyer is listed for Tenney in available court records.

Status of Capitol riot investigation

Since Jan. 6, more than 650 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach.

Nearly 200 of those 650 individuals face the most serious charges of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the Justice Department said.

So far, 10 people from South Carolina face criminal charges in connection with the riot.

On Jan. 6, Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s election to the presidency by a formal counting of the nation’s electoral votes, with former Vice President Mike Pence presiding over that process.

As a result of the storming of the Capitol by thousands of Trump supporters, members of Congress fled to safe rooms and stopped their work for some five hours. Rioters were armed with poles and used objects seized from police — such as riot shields and helmets — to smash their way through entry points in the Capitol.

More than 100 police officers were injured, and one officer died. One rioter was shot and killed as she tried to climb through a smashed-in door to a corridor that led into the U.S. House.

Although Trump and many of his supporters continue to falsely claim that widespread fraud cost Trump the presidential election, more than 60 court actions alleging fraud in more than six battleground states were tossed out of court for lack of evidence or jurisdictional issues.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear two challenges to the election that were based on alleged voter fraud. Former Attorney General William Barr also announced there was no widespread fraud.

A U.S. House committee is investigating the causes of the riot.