Jan. 6 defendant charged with assaulting officers IDed with help of a forehead scar [View all]

Source: NBC News

April 17, 2024, 12:39 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — An alleged Jan. 6 participant charged with assaulting officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol was identified with the help of facial recognition and a scar above his left eye.

Joshua Lee Atwood was known as “LeadPipeGuy” by online "sedition hunters," who identified him to the bureau back in 2021. Court records show that Atwood was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and charged with assaulting law enforcement on Jan. 6.

A ten-year-old mugshot of Atwood “included a ... scar on the left portion of ATWOOD’s forehead,” according to the FBI, which said it matched the scar to photos of Atwood outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Last year, Atwood was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with an alleged armed robbery and assault at the Crazy Donkey restaurant in West Virginia. The Weirton Daily Times reported that Atwood "allegedly grabbed money from the cash drawer at the restaurant during the argument and attempted to flee, stabbing the victim in his arm on his way out while retrieving a dropped firearm." A patrolman involved in that arrest helped confirm the ID to the FBI, according to the bureau. Court records show that Atwood's bond was set at $100,000 in that case before it was transferred to the Hancock County Circuit Court. The Hancock County Circuit Court told NBC News that Atwood was recently indicted in that case and has not yet entered a plea.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jan-6-defendant-charged-assaulting-officers-ided-help-forehead-scar-rcna148191