FBI Arrests Capitol Stormer From NC Who Was Out On Bond: Feds

SMITHFIELD, NC — The FBI on Tuesday arrested a North Carolina man who struck police during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — while he was out on bond on a criminal charge, according to court documents.

Matthew Jason Beddingfield was out on bond on an attempted murder charge filed in Johnston County at the time he is accused of storming the Capitol, according to the report. The charge stems from a shooting in a Walmart parking lot in Smithfield in 2019.

Beddingfield's bond in the 2019 case was initially set at $1 million, but he was released several weeks later after his it was lowered to $100,000.

Beddingfield was convicted in August 2021 of a lesser offense — assault with a deadly weapon — stemming from the 2019 shooting and received two years of probation, according to state records.

Court documents show Beddingfield faces nine charges in connection with the Capitol insurrection, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a deadly weapon or inflicting bodily injury and entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon. He's also accused of various acts of civil disorder, trespassing and violence on Capitol grounds.

The FBI identified Beddingfield as a suspect after seeing him publicly identified by facial recognition software in a HuffPost article in March, according to the complaint.

Authorities matched video footage of Beddingfield at the Jan. 6 riot with photos from his father's Facebook account as well as video footage from a court appearance on his attempted murder charge, according to court documents.

Beddingfield was positively identified in the photos from the Capitol riot by his probation officer, the complaint said.

The FBI said video surveillance shows Beddingfield "jabbing at and striking law enforcement officers" with a metallic pole holding an American flag before he entered the Capitol building, court documents show.

Related coverage:

• Here Are The 14 North Carolinians Charged In Capitol Insurrection