Missouri man ‘barreled into’ officers with shields during Capitol riot, charges say

A southwest Missouri man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with the Capitol riot, including assaulting law enforcement officers, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.

Chancelor Nathan Taylor, 26, of Anderson in McDonald County, is charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with certain designated individuals, a felony.

Taylor was charged Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and arrested Thursday. He is the 34th Missouri resident to be charged in a Capitol riot case and the ninth since mid-June.

Taylor also faces several misdemeanor counts: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in support of the charges, a line of officers was stationed at the Upper West Terrace area outside the Capitol building about 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, attempting to guard a staircase where a mob had formed. The officers were holding riot shields in front of them as a barrier, the affidavit said.

The crowd was hostile toward the officers, and many rioters were attempting to break through the line to get to the Capitol, it said.

“Multiple rioters, including Taylor, suddenly rushed at the line of police officers standing on the stairs,” the affidavit said. “The rioters used their bodies to physically push into the officers’ shields, and one rioter pointed a long stick at officers while another waved a golf club at them. Taylor ran toward the officers and barreled into the line with his shoulder, hitting one of the officer’s shields.”

The officer pushed Taylor backward, the document said, and he fell to the ground but quickly regained his footing and continued to resist the officers. Other rioters tried to restrain Taylor and pull him back toward the crowd, it said. Officers then deployed pepper spray at Taylor, and he retreated down the stairs.

“After retreating, Taylor turned around and shouted at officers, ‘I hope you all f—--- die!’” the affidavit said.

Taylor was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with the words “Stop the Steal” on the back, the affidavit said. He had a gray bandanna around his neck and carried a pink backpack.

Investigators spoke to Taylor three times, the affidavit said, and he admitted he was the person in the images they showed him that had been taken inside the Capitol.

“Taylor provided the FBI with the black long sleeve shirt and the pink backpack that he was observed wearing on January 6,” the affidavit said. “The backpack and shirt match the items depicted in the video.”

Investigators also obtained consent to examine Taylor’s cellphone, the document said.

“Geographic data from the device confirms that Taylor was in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021,” it said.

Chancelor Taylor criminal complaint by Ian Cummings on Scribd