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Berks County man charged with aiding rioters during Jan. 6 Capitol attack

  • Robby Brod
Footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack allegedly shows Anthony Nolf pushing against police barricades. (U.S. Department of Justice)

Footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack allegedly shows Anthony Nolf pushing against police barricades. (U.S. Department of Justice)

Anthony Nolf, a 37-year-old man from Birdsboro, was arrested Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his actions during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Nolf is charged with felony civil disorder, and two misdemeanors accusing him of illegally entering and remaining on Capitol grounds and demonstrating disorderly and disruptive conduct while inside.

Court documents show Nolf and his sister from Delaware spent 12 minutes moving bike racks from an area near scaffolding at the Capitol building. The bike racks were put there to prevent rioters from entering. After moving one of the bike racks, Nolf and his sister headed to the Lower West Terrace and west entrance area of the Capitol , where they helped other rioters trying to push past the police officers responsible for securing the area.

“Specifically, while inside the Tunnel, Nolf added his force, momentum, body, and effort to the other rioters in a ‘heave-ho’ effort,” the Department of Justice wrote in a news release. “This put intense aggregate pressure on the police line in front of the rioters.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, along with the DOJ’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, are prosecuting the case.

FBI field offices in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. are conducting the investigation with help from Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

Nolf joins the more than 1,000 people across the country who are facing charges for their actions during the attack. More than 300 of them are charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

At least 80 Pennsylvanians have been charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack to try to keep former president Donald Trump in power – even though he lost the 2020 election.

DOJ documents do not indicate if Nolf has a lawyer, and Nolf could not be reached for comment.

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