Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 35
- Location
- North Brunswick, New Jersey
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers (3 counts); Inflicting Bodily Injury on Certain Officers; Robbery and Aiding and Abetting (2 counts); Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon (2 counts); Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Civil Disorder; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Court documents cite publicly available videos from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot that show a man in a gas mask with a red, white and blue, star-spangled jacket emblazoned with the phrase “Make America Great Again." He is shaking his fist, yelling at and shoving police officers as well as unleashing pepper spray directly into officers’ faces, according to an FBI affidavit. Tipsters identified him as Christopher Quaglin, and a search warrant of his social media accounts revealed numerous posts indicating his presence at the Capitol riot, according to the affidavit. A direct message dated Dec. 22, 2020, included a photo of weapons and tactical gear mounted on a wall with the caption: “That’s my basement gun room. I have been planning for this since f**king Bush left office and Obama came in.” The affidavit says that Quaglin rented six hotel rooms in Washington, D.C., and that he had sent Facebook messages to others offering them spare rooms if they joined his trip. Quaglin's Google history revealed multiple searches for “guy gets bear sprayed at capital,” “countries where you can buy citizenship, residency, or passport,” and multiple visits to the FBI’s website seeking information. Quaglin was arrested April 7, 2021, in New Brunswick, N.J.
Case History
Quaglin pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Found Guilty on 7/10/2023 in a stipulated Bench trial on all charges. Sentenced on 5/24/2024 to 144 Months of Incarceration; 24 Months of Supervised Release; Special Assessment of $1,220; Restitution in the amount of $2,000. Quaglin 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.