Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 41
- Location
- Miami, Oklahoma
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Entering and Remaining in Restricted Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Grounds; Physical Violence in Restricted Grounds; 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
Case Summary
Benjamen Scott Burlew appeared in at least one video on the U.S. Capitol grounds, where he is allegedly seen assaulting a photographer who works for The Associated Press, according to the Justice Department. As described in the video, Burlew can allegedly be seen wearing camouflage and with a receding hairline, confronting and yelling at the photographer, who had already been dragged down a set of stairs by two unknown people. The FBI says that Burlew, along with others, pushed and shoved the journalist and tried to throw him over the wall of the U.S. Capitol's west lawn. Burlew allegedly disengaged for a while, and then kept shoving the photographer. Eventually, Burlew lunged at the journalist and threw him over the wall, which had a drop of several feet, where he landed on his back, court documents indicate. Burlew reportedly leaned over to watch him fall. The criminal complaint says that Burlew is a former service member in the U.S. Army. Burlew was turned in by a tipster who reportedly overheard Burlew tell a close family member in late December that he planned to "storm the Capitol." Several other people contacted the FBI to identify him as BOLO #195 on one of the FBI's wanted posters.
Case History
Burlew pleaded Guilty to one charge: Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers. Sentencing reset for 1/22/2025. On 1/21/2025, the court grants the government’s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.