Trump supporter charged with firing a gun during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Source: NBC News

March 8, 2024, 5:04 PM EST


WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump enthusiast who appeared to fire two gunshots at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested by federal authorities on Friday.

NBC News identified John Emanuel Banuelos two years ago as the man in photos and video footage who appeared to be flashing a gun in his waistband as he fought officers on Jan. 6, 2021.

Last month, Jan. 6 rioter Derrick Evans, who is now running in a Republican House primary in West Virginia, published previously unseen video that appeared to show that Banuelos actually fired his weapon twice outside the Capitol that day. Online "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in hundreds of arrests of Capitol rioters — and who first sent Banuelos' name to the FBI in February 2021 — quickly surfaced additional footage that confirmed that Banuelos was the man who appeared to have fired the weapon.

Banuelos, 39, now lives in Summit, Illinois, and he made his first appearance in federal court in Illinois on Friday after his arrest.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-supporter-charged-firing-gun-jan-6-capitol-attack-rcna142538