Former Detroit Lions linebacker charged for allegedly assaulting police on Jan. 6

(WASHINGTON) — A former NFL linebacker who played for the Detroit Lions faces charges for allegedly engaging in a series of assaults on law enforcement during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, court records show.

Leander Antwione Williams, 31, was arrested Thursday in what appears to be the first newly filed Capitol breach case brought by federal prosecutors since Election Day.

His charges include assaulting officers, civil disorder and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.

Williams was a fifth-round draft pick for the Detroit Lions in 2016 and also played linebacker for the XFL’s DC Defenders, according to public reports.

In the charging document, which was unsealed Thursday following his arrest in Savannah, Georgia, prosecutors detailed how Williams allegedly joined the pro-Trump mob in engaging in several violent skirmishes with officers attempting to protect the Capitol.

In one instance, Williams was captured on police body camera footage pulling bike racks away from a police line and then striking an officer on the head, according to the complaint. Another video showed Williams grabbing and pulling against two officers who appeared to be trying to push him away, according to the complaint.

Williams was ultimately identified by the FBI following a series of tips submitted dating back to December of 2022, according to the complaint. Agents ultimately confirmed his identity in photos with the help of a signature key fob that he was seen wearing on his belt loop during the riot that they cross-referenced with other pictures from his social media profiles, according to the complaint.

Williams has not entered a plea to the felony charges he currently faces and did not have an attorney listed representing him as of Thursday afternoon.

His arrest is further evidence that the Justice Department plans to continue its prosecution of individuals found to have carried out assaults during the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol despite the election of former President Donald Trump, who has stated his intention to issue pardons or commute the sentences for his followers who joined in the attack once he takes office in January.

Prosecutors from the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office have spent the past week arguing against a wave of filings from Jan. 6 defendants seeking to delay their cases in the hopes they’ll be pardoned once Trump enters office. In most, but not all instances, those requests have fallen flat with judges overseeing their cases.

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