William Frederick Beals, II

Case Summary

Federal prosecutors allege William Frederick Beals, II, wore body armor and a helmet with a "F*** Antifa" sticker on it as he breached the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Beals can allegedly be seen on camera walking through the Capitol before exiting, and then working with other rioters to push through police lines. Court documents state he then recorded himself on TikTok saying, inaccurately, "so we officially took the White House," and took photos of himself on Capitol grounds, including sitting on a Capitol police motorcycle. The FBI obtained text messages from Beals, including one message in which he allegedly talked about the riot and stated, "I knew it was easy to get in." Prosecutors say Beals later gave an interview to the FBI, in which he claimed he never entered the Capitol building and that any photos of him inside the building must have been doctored. According to news channel WTVC, Beals has denied all the charges in an interview with the station.

Case History

Beals pleaded Guilty to two charges: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 9/10/2024 to 36 months of probation; 90 days location monitoring; Special Assessment of $50; Restitution of $500; 75 hours of community service. Beals 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.