Former NFL player charged in Jan 6 Capitol riot

A former professional American football player has been charged in connection with the riot at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

Antwoine Williams is facing felony charges of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police, along with several lesser misdemeanour charges.

He was charged on 7 November, in what is reportedly the first Capitol riot-related case filed since Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Mr Williams, a defensive player from Georgia, was a college star at Georgia Southern University before being drafted by the National Football League’s Detroit Lions.

He played one season in 2016 before being released by the Lions and had brief stints with several other American football teams.

According to court documents, Mr Williams, 31, was seen on videos from the Capitol riot, where thousands of pro-Trump activists broke into the building after his 2020 election loss, pulling on barricades and hitting a police officer on the head, and struggling with other officers.

Prosecutors say he stayed on the Capitol grounds until the evening of 6 January.

He was identified by a golf hat and a distinct key fob that he was wearing during the riot that matched other online photos of Mr Williams.

Online volunteers known as “sedition hunters,” who use online videos and pictures to hunt for rioters, identified the brand of the hat and nicknamed Mr Williams “RiotingGolfer”.

More than 1,500 people have been arrested in connection with the riot, when a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the building that houses the US Congress, disrupting certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Donald Trump has promised to pardon some of the rioters, although he has not made clear what criteria he would use to do so.

Several convicted or accused rioters have asked for their trials or sentencing hearings to be delayed because Trump’s promise might affect their cases. On Thursday, two judges delayed such hearings, however, other judges have turned down similar requests.

The FBI is still looking to identify dozens of other suspects who were present at the Capitol that day.