Brothers captured on video confronting Capitol officer are charged in riot

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Two brothers from Montana who were captured on a viral video confronting the quick-thinking Capitol Police officer who distracted rioters during the Jan. 6 siege have been charged, according to court papers.

The brothers, Joshua Hughes and Jerod Hughes, were seen chasing after Officer Eugene Goodman with a mob of other rioters on a stairwell outside the upper chamber of Congress, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit supporting federal charges against them.

Jerod Hughes, who was wearing a QAnon sweatshirt during the riot, is seen leading the pack of rioters during the altercation, according to photos included in the affidavit.

In the court documents, the agent lauded Goodman for leading the mob away from the Senate floor, where Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers were gathered to certify the 2020 presidential election.

“Officer Goodman, who was facing the rioters on his own, retreated up the stairs and radioed twice for backup to direct other officers to the mob’s location,” the affidavit states.

“When Officer Goodman reached the second floor, he positioned himself so that he was between the rioters and the Senate floor — which had not yet been evacuated,” it adds.

“Realizing that he could not prevent the mob from storming the Senate floor by himself, Officer Goodman baited the rioters into continuing to follow him — luring them away from the Senate floor and into an adjacent hallway,” the affidavit states.

The brothers, along with other rioters, eventually did make it into the Senate chamber, where they were photographed rummaging through lawmakers’ materials, according to the documents.

They “sat in Senators’ chairs, opened Senators’ desks, and reviewed sensitive material stored therein,” the affidavit states.

The brothers face nine charges each for their role in the riot, including obstruction of an official proceeding, obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder, knowingly entering a restricted building and disrupting government business.

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