‘We will take our country back’ | Capitol riot charges unsealed against two Washington men

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors field new charges this week against two Washington men accused of joining the pro-Trump mob on the west side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Derek Noftsger, 47, was taken into custody in Snohomish, Washington, Thursday on felony charges of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police with a dangerous weapon. Noftsger also faces additional misdemeanor charges of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. Noftsger was charged alongside another Washington resident, Thomas Hodo, 47, who faces one felony count of civil disorder and multiple misdemeanor charges. It was not immediately clear Friday whether Hodo had yet been arrested.

According to charging documents, the FBI was first tipped off to posts Hodo made on Facebook about his and Noftsger’s presence in D.C. on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021. Investigators subsequently identified both men in open source video, including one from the day before the riot that captured Noftsger saying he was prepared to “lay down my life.”

“It’s my time, my duty, and if I have to lay down my life in D.C. in the two days, then that’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” Noftsger said, according to charging documents.

Once at the Capitol on Jan. 6, investigators said Noftsger and Hodo can be seen wearing gas masks as they joined the mob on the west side of the building. There, Hodo allegedly helped other rioters pull a bike rack barricade away from police and threw an unidentified item before police.

Minutes later, according to investigators, Hodo can be heard using a megaphone to shout at police, saying at one point, “Every treasonous traitor will be hung… We will take our country back.”

Roughly 13 minutes after the first breach of the building, which occurred at the Senate Wing Doors, investigators said Noftsger can be seen on police bodyworn camera footage picking up a dropped riot shield and throwing I t toward a group of officers. Investigators said Noftsger then appeared to attempt to deploy a can of pepper spray at police, although no spray came out. Noftsger allegedly then threw the can toward police.

Photos included in charging documents show Noftsger and Hodo eventually made their way to the Lower West Terrace, where they can be seen holding a flag while flanking either side of “Cowboys for Trump” founder Couy Griffin and a New York man, Jake Lang. Griffin was convicted at trial in 2022 of unlawfully entering the restricted area on Jan. 6 and sentenced to 14 days in jail and a year of supervised release. Lang, who faces seven counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding police, is currently awaiting trial in custody in New York.

While on the Lower West Terrace, investigators said open source video captured Hodo talking about the riot.

“It could get a lot worse. We came in peace this time,” Hodo reportedly said. “It could get a lot worse, believe me we are well-armed if we need to be.”

Noftsger made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Washington on Thursday and was released on personal recognizance. An appearance before a judge in D.C. was not yet scheduled.

In the 43 months since the attack on the Capitol, nearly 1,500 people have been arrested and charged with crimes ranging from entering a restricted area to seditious conspiracy.