7th Michigan Man Charged In U.S. Capitol Riots: Court Docs

DETROIT — A seventh person from Michigan has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riots at Capitol Hill that left five people including a police officer dead.

Jeramiah Caplinger, 25, of Taylor, was arrested Tuesday and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and climbing on U.S. Capitol grounds, according to federal documents.

Caplinger has been released from jail ahead of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, court documents show.

In federal documents, prosecutors showed photos of a man identified as Caplinger wearing a red, Trump 2020 bucket hat inside Capitol grounds. Photos included in court filings also show Caplinger carrying an American flag.

Authorities also included quotes Caplinger gave to MLive in an article in which he discussed his part in the protest. In the story, Caplinger details climbing a wall to enter Capitol grounds and exploring.

He took part in the protests, he told MLive, because he thought the election had been stolen from former President Donald Trump.

More than 300 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, in which five people including a police officer died.

From Michigan, six other people have been charged for having some part in the riots.

Karl Dresch, 40, of Calumet, was charged in January, the first Michiganders to face formal charges stemming from the riot.

Michael Foy, 30, of Wixom, was accused of carrying a hockey stick in the U.S. Capitol and swinging it at people during the riot shortly after.

James Allen Mels, 56, of Shelby Township, was the third person from Michigan charged.

Most recently, two men from Macomb County — 43-year-old Daniel Herendeen and 39-year-old Robert Schornak — as well as 45-year-old Anthony Williams of Southgate, have been charged for various roles in the riot, the Metro Times reported.