Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 54
- Location
- Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Grounds Using and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Grounds Using and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Physical Violence in Restricted Grounds Using and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds; Striking, Beating or Wounding of Another Person within the Territorial Jurisdiction; Simple Assault within the Territorial Jurisdiction
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Federal prosecutors allege that Alan William Byerly assaulted a photographer for The Associated Press and also used a Taser or Taser-like device "meant to deliver a debilitating electric shock" to assault police officers protecting the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Byerly, court papers say, charged toward a police line in front of the West Terrace of the Capitol while activating the Taser-type device; police were able to remove the device from Byerly, but he continued to "physically strike, and push against officers," court documents say. At the time, Byerly was allegedly wearing a hat with the logo "Kutztown," which prosecutors believe is a reference to a Pennsylvania town a few miles from where Byerly lives. Separately, around that time, Byerly is accused of joining members of a violent mob that pushed, shoved and dragged the AP photographer outside the Capitol. After the FBI posted photos of the incident and requested tips from the public, a witness reportedly contacted investigators. Byerly was arrested on July 7, 2021.
Case History
Byerly pleaded Guilty to two charges: Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; and Striking, Beating or Wounding of Another Person within the Territorial Jurisdiction. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 10/21/2021 to 34 months incarceration; 3 years of supervised release; $125 Special Assessment. Byerly received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR - Supporting Reporting
NPR video evidence pageNPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.