Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 35
- Location
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; 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; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Dismissed in part or full
Case Summary
Prosecutors allege that Timothy Desjardins arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, carrying a backpack with three axes in it, assaulted police with a broken table leg, and later tried to breach chains near FBI headquarters. Desjardins' alleged assault of law enforcement took place during the infamous struggle in the tunnel of the lower west terrace, where he was allegedly seen in YouTube videos striking officers over and over again with “a significant amount of force.” Another tip from an FBI officer reported that Desjardins was caught the day after the riot in the early morning hours at FBI headquarters, trying to go over chains behind the building. When he was approached by officers, he reportedly showed his driver’s license, and officers noticed he had a couple of hatchets on the side of his backpack, which he claimed he was “good with." Desjardins was allowed to leave after it was determined there were no outstanding warrants for him. Court records state that Desjardins was later confirmed to be at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by agents who compared the video from that day with both his driver’s license and mugshots from an arrest months earlier in which he allegedly fired a shot in a Providence Walgreens parking lot. Two weeks before his arrest on charges related to the Capitol riot, Desjardins was arrested in an armed standoff with police in Providence on unrelated charges.
Case History
Desjardins was indicted by Grand Jury on 1/8/2025. 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.