Hillsboro man arrested in US Capitol attack
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A man authorities say is seen in videos circulated by the FBI attacking officers trying to protect the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been identified as a Hillsboro man and arrested.
Reed Christensen is the first of 10 people depicted in videos published online by the FBI to be arrested, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon announced Monday.
Christensen, 62, is charged with federal offenses that include forcibly assaulting, resisting, impeding or interfering with law enforcement; engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, the statement said.
Christensen made his initial court appearance in Portland on Monday, and faces prosecution in Washington.
“I was picked up in my suit on my way to church,” he told U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
A federal prosecutor asked that firearms be removed from Christensen’s home before he could be released from custody, the newspaper said. The judge agreed and told Christensen, who was arrested Sunday, to obtain prior approval from a federal officer if he wants to travel outside of Oregon.
His defense attorney said Christensen is a U.S. Army veteran.
Christensen is at least the fourth Oregon man arrested in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Video footage on an FBI video titled AFO #191 shows a man identified as Christensen hitting and pushing officers and trying to remove metal bike-rack barriers outside the Capitol.
In the first 100 days after Jan. 6, 2021, over 400 people have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach.
