Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 31
- Location
- Cary, North Carolina
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon, Inflicting Bodily Injury and Aiding and Abetting (2 counts); Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; 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, Resulting in Significant Bodily Injury, and Aiding and Abetting; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building or Grounds; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings and Aiding and Abetting; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Federal prosecutors allege that around 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, James Grant walked up to a metal barricade outside the U.S. Capitol building, lifted it up and assaulted police officers guarding a restricted area of the Capitol grounds. Together with another Capitol riot defendant, identified in court documents as Ryan Samsel, Grant allegedly pushed the police backwards and forced them to retreat. Pictures included in the court documents indicate Grant was wearing a mask with the image of a skull on it during the attack. About two hours after that incident, prosecutors say, Grant joined the mob of rioters and entered the Capitol building through a broken window. He can then be seen on video inside Senate offices, prosecutors allege, before he exited the building. Court records indicate that a warrant was issued for Grant's arrest on Sept. 29, 2021, and the FBI arrested him about two weeks later, on Oct. 14, 2021.
Case History
Grant pleaded Guilty to two charges: Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. Bench trial verdict on 2/2/2024 finds him Guilty on five charges: Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon, Inflicting Bodily Injury, and Aiding and Abetting; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building or Grounds; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings and Aiding and Abetting; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting. Not Guilty on four charges. On 9/3/2024, the Court orders dismissal of the Obstruction conviction. Sentenced on 9/19/2024 to 36 months incarceration; 36 months supervised release; $2,000 restitution; $240 special assessment. Grant 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
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.