Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 66
- Location
- East Williston, New York
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Civil Disorder; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Dismissed in part or full
Case Summary
The Twitter account @SeditionHunters labeled John O’Kelly as #MidWhiteCrisis as they tried to help identify him, according to court documents. A tipster brought O’Kelly to the attention of the FBI in July of 2021, after the tipster said they used ID software to search pictures of O’Kelly at the Capitol. Investigators say they used O’Kelly’s driver’s license photo to compare to existing photos and find another video of O’Kelly near the temporary stage on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors say O’Kelly grabbed a police officer’s baton and tried to wrestle it away before eventually pushing a bike rack into the line of law enforcement officers behind it. Court documents show O’Kelly had a reservation at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 5, 2021. The FBI twice conducted surveillance at O’Kelly’s last known address and saw a man who matched the photos from the Capitol. O’Kelly was arrested in October of 2022.
Case History
O'Kelly pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. On 1/22/2025, 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.