LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – An FBI agent from the Las Vegas Division has arrested a Las Vegas man on charges related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
According to court documents, Mario Gonzalez is facing five charges in federal court: assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer, knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds, and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia outlines the charges based on Gonzalez’s alleged actions that day. An FBI investigator reported that Gonzalez was flagged as being associated with three other rioters. Neighbors familiar with him confirmed his plans to travel to Washington and identified him in security photos taken on January 6.
The FBI obtained documents showing that the suspect traveled from Las Vegas to Philadelphia on January 5, adding that his manner of travel from there to the Capitol is unknown. Open source video showed Gonzalez walking east on Pennsylvania Ave. toward the U.S. Capitol, then entering restricted grounds near the Peace Monument circle.
Investigators reported that he approached and entered the northern scaffolding around the inauguration stage where police were attempting to prevent rioters from gaining access to the steps leading to the Upper West Terrace. Gonzalez reportedly filmed the altercation and took “selfie-style recordings” of himself using his cell phone as the group succeeded in pushing the police line backward up the stairs.
The FBI report said that the suspect then emerged from the scaffolding carrying a fire extinguisher and he proceeded to spray it in the direction of the police line holding the crowd at bay.
Those officers responded by deploying a chemical riot control agent in the direction of Gonzalez, who dropped his fire extinguisher and retreated back into the crowd.
Gonzalez was appointed a federal public defender. The suspect waived his right to a Rule 5 hearing and exercised his right to remain silent and to have counsel present during any questioning. He made an initial court appearance on January 10.
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