A Virginia resident, Charles Orlando Pratt IV, has been apprehended on charges of assaulting law enforcement and other offenses related to the events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. The breach disrupted a joint session of Congress tasked with certifying the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
Pratt, aged 59 from Powhatan, Virginia, faces felony charges including assaulting officers and obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder. Additionally, he is charged with several misdemeanors such as entering restricted grounds and engaging in disorderly conduct.
The FBI arrested Pratt on December 4, 2024, in Virginia. He made his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Court documents reveal that Pratt was involved in a confrontation on January 6 at the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol. At around 1:11 p.m., he allegedly pushed through rioters to confront law enforcement alongside others like Landon Kenneth Copeland and Christopher Joseph Quaglin. Video evidence shows this altercation escalating when Copeland shoved Quaglin into an officer, leading to a struggle where Quaglin grabbed and pushed an officer backward. It is alleged that Pratt then joined by grabbing an officer's shoulder while blocking police intervention.
Pratt and others reportedly struggled over a police baton and shoved an officer before being pushed away by law enforcement.
The case is prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The investigation is conducted by FBI's Richmond and Washington Field Offices which identified Pratt as BOLO #346 in their images seeking information. Assistance was provided by the United States Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department.
Since January 6, over 1,561 individuals have been charged across nearly all states for crimes related to the Capitol breach; more than 590 face charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers.
Tips can be reported to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.
"A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."