Dallas City News

UPDATE published on Dec. 22, 2023: On Thursday, Dec. 7, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia announced that a Texas man had been sentenced for his role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, and a North Texas woman had been arrested for her role in the events that attempted to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Alan Hostetter, 59, was convicted in June of four felony charges, including disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The Parker County resident was sentenced to 135 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release, one of the stiffer penalties handed to any of Jan. 6 participants nationwide.

Dana Jean Bell, 65, of Princeton, in Collin County, was arrested on Dec. 7 on both felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office, Bell was captured on video assaulting at least two members of the D.C. media.

On Dec. 13 Thomas John Ballard of Fort Worth, already on this list, was sentenced for his role on Jan. 6. to 54 months in federal prison. And on Dec. 20, Andrew Taake of Houston, also already on this list, pleaded guilty to the felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.

These are the latest developments related to Texans arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection to add to the total since the Observer originally published this article on Nov. 8. The article and list below is updated to reflect the latest information as of Dec. 22, 2023.

The third anniversary of the insurrectionist attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is just over two weeks away. Nearly three years ago, thousands of pro-Donald Trump protesters stormed into the building in an attempt to prevent Congressional certification of the election of President-elect Joe Biden. The chaos quickly became deadly when Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who illegally attempted to climb through a shattered Capitol window while at the front of a violent mob, was shot and killed by police.

Since then, law enforcement agencies have continued to announce the arrests of many of those who participated, no doubt aided by a host of videos and photos posted to social media by the eventual defendants of their Jan. 6 rampage exploits. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia released a report detailing the arrests, charges, pleas and other action that have followed in the wake of the attack nearly 36 months ago.

“The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the Capitol building and grounds, both inside and outside the building,” the report reads. “As of October 14, 2022, the approximate losses suffered as a result of the siege at the Capitol totaled $2,881,360.20. That amount reflects, among other things, damage to the Capitol building and grounds and certain costs borne by the U.S. Capitol Police.”

So far, more than 1,200 arrests have been made in connection with the Jan. 6 case, and more than half of them have already resulted in guilty pleas.

Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of former U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, recently released her latest documentary, The Insurrectionist Next Door, a harrowing look at several of the people who were arrested for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack.

 

“The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the Capitol building and grounds, both inside and outside the building.” – U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia

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Some of the subjects featured in the film displayed no remorse for their actions, while others had undergone a change of heart since early 2021. One man admitted he didn’t really know what he was even doing that day since he had never been a Trump supporter. Perhaps as much as any other point, the film hammers home the fact that the hordes of rioters involved on Jan. 6 represent an unexpectedly wide cross-section of the American population, and that it’s not a stretch to think one of them might be living near you.

That’s especially true if you live in Texas. The Lone Star state is home to more than 80 people charged with a role in the Capitol breach. On Nov. 3, Texan Steven Cappuccio, of San Antonio suburb Universal City, was sentenced to 85 months in federal prison, one of the most severe Jan. 6-related penalties yet, after being charged with nine different counts. Cappuccio could be seen in video ripping off the gas mask of a Capitol police officer while screaming “how do you like me now, motherfucker?”

On Tuesday, East Texas resident Ryan Taylor Nichols pleaded guilty to a pair of felony charges resulting from his role in the insurrection. According to a statement from the Department of Justice, Nichols and another defendant prepared themselves for more than an innocent rally in Washington, D.C.

“According to court documents, Nichols traveled from his home in Texas to Washington, D.C., with his friend and co-defendant, Alex Kirk Harkrider, based on their belief that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent,” the statement read. “Nichols and Harkrider exchanged text messages in the preceding days, planning and organizing for the trip to D.C. In one message, Nichols sent Harkrider a photograph of body armor and pricing, stating that the body armor would protect against various bullets. In another series of messages to Harkrider, Nichols stated that, ‘Dad and I are building a gun container in the truck today. Just know I have intel that Washington will be a warzone. Big possibility that actual battle goes down.'”

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach https://t.co/y7NRZfTl7n @USAO_EDTX @FBIDallas @FBIWFO @CapitolPolice @DCPoliceDept

— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) November 7, 2023

People from nearly all 50 states have been arrested for their Jan. 6 misdeeds, but Texas sits near the top of the list. According to a July report from the Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and California account for just over 43% of those charged with Capitol breach crimes.

Texans played pivotal roles in the violent attack on the peaceful transfer of power above and beyond the basic number of participants. On the second anniversary of the attack and following the release of a 2022 Congressional report on Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the Texas Tribune wrote “[t]he Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection would not have been possible without the help of a number of key Texans.” Later in the piece, Tribune reporter Robert Downen noted the massive report read “like a who’s who of Texas conspiracy theorists, conservative activists and extremists.”

The charges that the dozens of arrested Texans face include, but are not limited to, 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; disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings; acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; and seditious conspiracy.

There will likely be more added to the list of people charged. The U.S. Attorney’s 34-month report noted that “the FBI currently has 13 videos of suspects wanted for violent assaults on federal officers and (ONE) video of (TWO) suspects wanted for assaults on members of the media on January 6th and is seeking the public’s help to identify them.”

But before those suspects are arrested, let’s take a look at all of the Texans who have been charged by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for their role in the attack (in alphabetical order, with location of arrest).

Daniel Page Adams, Goodrich

Wilmar Jeovanny Montano Alvarado, Houston

David Arredondo, El Paso*

Thomas John Ballard, Fort Worth*

Richard Franklin Barnard, Liberty*

Dana Jean Bell, Princeton

Kevin Sam Blakely, McKinney*

Jason Blythe, Fort Worth

Brandon Bradshaw, San Antonio

Cory Ray Branan, Midland*

Larry Rendell Brock, Fort Worth*

Daniel Ray Caldwell, The Colony*

Steven Cappuccio, Universal City*

Luke Russell Coffee, Dallas

Thomas Paul Conover, Keller*

Nolan B. Cooke, Sherman*

Christian Cortez, Seabrook*

Jenny Louise Cudd, Midland*

Matthew Dasilva, Lavon

Nicholas Decarlo, Fort Worth*

Lucas Denney, Kinney County*

Robert Wayne Dennis, Garland*

Alexander Fan, Houston

Jason Farris, Arlington

Frederic Fiol, San Antonio

Jacob Garcia, Fort Worth*

Anthime Joseph Gionet, Houston*

Daniel Goodwyn, Corinth*

Christopher Ray Grider, Austin*

Leonard Gruppo, Lubbock*

Stacy Wade Hagar, Waco

Alex Kirk Harkrider, Carthage*

Donald Hazard, Hurst

Alan Hostetter, Parker County*

Jason Lee Hyland, Plano*

Adam Jackson, Katy

Brian Jackson, Katy

Raul Jarrin, Houston

Shane Jenkins, Houston

Joshua Johnson, Plano

David Lee Judd, Carrollton

Joseph Zvonimir Jurlina, Austin

John Lammons, Galveston

Benjamin Larocca, Seabrook*

Joshua R. Lollar, Spring

Michael Marroquin, Nederland

Felipe Antonio Martinez, Austin

Victor Martinez, San Antonio

Matthew Carl Mazzacco, San Antonio*

William Hendry Mellors, Houston

Jalise Middleton, Forestburg

Mark Middleton, Forestburg

Garrett Miller, Richardson

Samuel Christopher Montoya, Austin*

Andrew Jackson Morgan Jr., Maxwell

Dawn Munn, Borger*

Kayli Munn, Borger*

Kristi Marie Munn, Borger*

Thomas Munn, Borger*

Ryan Taylor Nichols, Tyler*

Jason Douglas Owens, Blanco*

Nathan Donald Pelham, Frisco

Tam Dinh Pham, Houston*

Daniel Dink Phipps, Corpus Christi

Jeffrey Reed, Rosanky

Guy Wesley Reffitt, Bonham*

Stewart Elmer Rhodes III, Little Elm*

Eliel Rosa, Midland*

Jennifer Leigh Ryan, Plano*

Katherine Staveley Schwab, Fort Worth*

Geoffrey Samuel Shough, Austin*

Jonathan Owen Shroyer, San Antonio

Troy Anthony Smocks, Dallas*

Kellye Sorelle, Junction

Edward Spain Jr. (city not provided)*

Andrew Taake, Houston*

Chance Anthony Uptmore, San Antonio*

James Herman Uptmore, San Antonio*

Sean David Watson, Alpine*

Adam Mark Weibling, Katy*

Elizabeth Rose Williams, Kerrville*

Vic Williams, Odessa*

Jeffrey Shane Witcher, Bastrop*

Darrell Alan Youngers, Houston*

Ryan Scott Zink, Lubbock
*Defendant has either pleaded guilty to or has been found guilty of at least one count against them as of Jan. 4, 2024.