GROVELAND, Florida – Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the 2021 assault on the US Capitol, which marked the third anniversary of the violent attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Jonathan D Pollock, 24, his sister, Olivia M Pollock, 33, and Joseph D Hutchinson, 27, at a ranch in Groveland, Florida. The three are facing charges including assaulting officers and violent entry into the Capitol, among others. They are set to be arraigned on Monday.
According to a 53-page indictment, Jonathan Pollock and Hutchinson were captured on video punching officers during the riots, with Pollock also accused of grabbing riot shields from officers and using them to strike an officer in the neck or face. The three had been indicted in April of 2021, and Jonathan Pollock had been in hiding before his recent arrest. His sister and Hutchinson had initially been arrested in June 2021, but fled before their trial was set to begin in Washington, DC last March.
The assault on the Capitol in 2021 involved a crowd of thousands attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. It resulted in over 2,000 people entering the Capitol building, causing widespread damage and destruction. The fallout from the attack continues, with more than 950 people facing federal charges in connection to the riot. Some have even been accused of seditious conspiracy, a rare and serious offense.
US President Joe Biden and former President Trump have clashed over the handling of the event, with Biden calling it one of the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history, and Trump repeating unfounded claims about election fraud. The US Department of Justice has reported that 192 defendants have been sentenced to time behind bars and 484 have pleaded guilty to various crimes related to the assault.
As the country continues to grapple with the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, the arrest of the three individuals in Florida serves as a reminder of the ongoing legal and political consequences of that fateful day.