Maj. Christopher Warnagiris of the U.S. Marine Corps was arrested in Virginia on Thursday.
An active-duty Marine has been charged with assaulting a U.S. Capitol Police officer in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Maj. Christopher Warnagiris of the U.S. Marine Corps, 40, was arrested in Virginia on Thursday after being charged with a number of federal crimes, including “assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers” and obstructing law enforcement, according to charging documents. He’s the first known active-duty military member to have been charged with a crime in connection with the insurrection.
According to Maj. J. A. Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Marines, Warnagiris has served since 2002 and earned numerous awards. He was deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to Hernandez.
Warnagiris is accused of “violently enter[ing]” the Capitol on Jan. 6 after he forced his way through a line of officers protecting the Capitol. He pushed his way through the East Rotunda doors, according to charging documents, after which he appeared to help other rioters get through the guarded doors.
An officer tried to close the doors, but Warnagiris tried to push it open more, according to the documents. The officer said that he ordered Warnagiris to leave the entryway, but that he didn’t do so. The officer then tried to push him away, and Warnagiris pushed back to try to stay where he was in the doorway.
The episode for which Warnagiris is charged was captured on security camera footage that was part of the charging documents.
A witness is said to have seen photos of Warnagiris on the web and reported him to the FBI. Investigators found that Warnagiris was stationed at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Northern Virginia.
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Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, an active-duty Marine, is the first known active-duty military member to be charged with a crime in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection the DOJ announced today. https://t.co/gzgGDE4inS
— POLITICO (@politico) May 13, 2021
BREAKING: Active-duty Marine Major Christopher Warnagiris, based at Quantico, was arrested in Virginia for assaulting federal officers at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/vh7TdReT4d
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) May 13, 2021
The Washington Post had an excellent analysis of the people arrested so far in connection with the coup. It was shocking to see how many are active or former military or active or former law enforcement. Trumpism seems to be everywhere, but finding so much of it in the people who are supposed to protect us is unsettling. This cult needs to be rooted out.
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