Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Assault on Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

DOJ -- Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, August 26, 2021

Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Assault on Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Assailant Accused of Knocking Over Officer, Resulting in a Concussion
A Pennsylvania man was indicted yesterday for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Ryan Samsel, 37, of Levittown, was indicted on Aug. 25 on federal offenses that include assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; carrying out an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds; and obstruction of an official proceeding. Samsel has remained in custody since his arrest on Jan. 30 pursuant to a criminal complaint. An arraignment date on the indictment has not yet been set in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

According to court documents, Samsel was captured in publicly available video taken of a crowd pushing and pulling on barricades on the west side of the Capitol. In the process of pushing the barricades to the ground, Samsel and others knocked over a U.S. Capitol Police officer, causing a head injury as the officer’s head hit the ground. In another confrontation, according to court documents, Samsel attempted to pull a riot shield from a uniformed U.S. Capitol Police officer.

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. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Samsel as #51 in its seeking information photos, with significant assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Bucks Montco Safe Streets Task Force of the Fort Washington resident agency of the Philadelphia Field Office.

In the seven months since Jan. 6, more than 570 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 170 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.

The charges contained in any criminal complaint or indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Component(s): 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
National Security Division (NSD)
USAO - District of Columbia
Updated August 26, 2021