Hudson Valley Man Accused Of Participating In Jan. 6 Riots: Feds

HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NY — A Dutchess County man was arrested after being accused of acting to disrupt the certification of the electoral college votes for the president of the United States on Jan. 6, 2021.

The United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia said Thursday that Christopher Douglas Finney, 32, of Hopewell Junction, was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with felony offenses of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder.

In addition to the felonies, he was charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

According to prosecutors, Finney traveled from Hopewell Junction to Washington, D.C., to attend a rally on Jan. 6, 2021.

He recorded himself near the Washington Monument and, in the recording, said, “We’re gonna be going up to, where they’re — what’s the building where they’re doing the counting at?”

Someone off camera said “the Capitol,” and Finney continued by saying, “we’re going up to the Capitol, eventually. We’re gonna storm the Capitol. They’re not gonna keep us outta there. We’re gonna make sure that this is done correct and that Donald Trump is still our president.”

Around 12:49 p.m., an open-source video captured Finney addressing a crowd through a megaphone while just outside the fenced boundary of the Capitol’s restricted area.

About four minutes after Finney appears, the video records an off-camera reaction to the first breach of the Capitol grounds. Following the first breach of the grounds, Finney recorded himself wearing a face mask printed with a skull and said, “We’re storming the Capitol right now. We just broke over the fence. As you can see, we have many many many people, millions of people, storming the lawn right now to the Capitol building. We started tearing down the fence; this is all fence right here as you can see. We’re going in there. Let’s go.”

Prosecutors said Finney continued recording himself as he crossed the Capitol’s West Lawn and scaled a stone wall reinforced with snow fencing. He eventually made his way to the Inauguration scaffolding at the northwest corner of the Capitol’s West Front. He recorded himself entering the scaffolding and ascending the steps past a police line and bike rack barricades onto the Upper West Terrace and approaching the Senate Wing Doors.

Approaching the Senate Wing Doors, prosecutors said, Finney recorded himself saying, “Patriots, we have made it. We are where they are counting.”

He entered the Capitol building via the Senate Wing Doors at 2:14 p.m. He then left the building through a broken window next to the Senate Wing Doors but quickly reentered.

After getting back inside, Finney proceeded south, stopping in a conference room and then moving to the Crypt, where he declared in a video, “As you can see, we’re inside the Capitol right now.”

From the Crypt, Finney made his way to the OAP corridor and left the Capitol through a door on the east side of the building.

After leaving the building, Finney made his way to the west side of the Capitol and arrived at the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, which was created by the construction of a stage for the upcoming presidential inauguration and, according to prosecutors, was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement during the Jan. 6 riots.

That was where Finney joined other rioters in a group push against the police line in the Tunnel. As the crowd pushed, another rioter threw an object emitting smoke at the officers at the front of the Tunnel.

As the entrance to the Tunnel filled with smoke, Finney retreated down the steps, where he helped other rioters pass a long wooden pole up to the Tunnel entrance.

Another rioter then tossed the pole at the police line, and Finney recorded video footage as the crowd threw other objects at the police, a rioter jabbed at officers with a pole, and additional rioters beat officers with a bat and a riot shield.